Next Genshin Impact banner: release date, time, and featured characters [Version 3.5]

Who is featured on the Genshin Impact banners in Version 3.5, and when will it go live? Genshin Impact works on a gacha system, where players can spend various in-game and real-world currencies to Wish on a character's banner in the hopes of obtaining a playable version of them.

While many characters are permanently available as potential pulls from the gacha, others — usually 5-star characters — are only available during limited periods as part of Character Event Wish banners. Every Character Event Wish banner features one 5-star character and three 4-star characters with a massively increased drop rate, and the 5-star character is often unique to the banner and unobtainable in any other way.

On this page, we've compiled everything we know about Genshin Impact's current and upcoming banners, including release dates and times for the next banner changeover. Further down the page, we've included some information about characters who are available to purchase from the current and upcoming stock in Paimon's Bargains.

Genshin Impact: current event banners

The concurrent Character Event Wish banners in Genshin Impact for Version 3.5 (Phase 2) are The Heron's Court and The Transcendent One Returns, featuring Kamisato Ayaka and Shenhe respectively. These banners have been available to wish on since March 21st at 5pm GMT / 6pm EDT / 3pm PDT, and are expected to end on April 11th at 3pm BST / 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. (Players in the UK should note that British Summer Time begins during this banner period!)

These banners also introduce brand new 4-star character Mika, who enjoys an increased drop rate alongisde fellow featured 4-stars Diona and Sucrose. Note that while the promoted 4-star characters can be pulled from either banner, the featured 5-star characters can only be pulled by wishing on their own individual banner. However, pity accumulates on and is shared between both concurrent Character Event Wish banners.

See below for full details on the characters with increased drop rates on the current banners:

The Heron's Court

• Kamisato Ayaka (5-star)
• Mika (4-star, new)
• Diona (4-star)
• Sucrose (4-star)

The Transcendent One Returns

• Shenhe (5-star)
• Mika (4-star, new)
• Diona (4-star)
• Sucrose (4-star)

Genshin Impact: future event banners

Version 3.6 of Genshin Impact is expected on or around April 11th, 2023. As yet there is no official word on which characters will feature on either pair of banners, although credible rumours suggest that Baizhu and Kaveh will be the new characters for the update.

We'll bring you more information on the 5-star characters featured in Version 3.6 following the livestream (expected on March 31st), with details of the featured 4-star characters expected nearer to release.

Paimon's Bargains and the Starglitter Exchange

Wishes and banners aren't quite the only way to increase your party roster in Genshin Impact. There is another corner of the in-game store where you can potentially get your hands on some new playables. Check out Paimon's Bargains for a regularly rotated stock of common 4-star characters you can purchase outright in exchange for Masterless Starglitter, a currency generated from pulling duplicate characters and high-end weapons from the gacha.

The Starglitter Exchange features two characters every calendar month, and though they're a little pricey at 34 Masterless Starglitter each, this is a guaranteed purchase rather than a gamble. For March 2023, the characters in the Starglitter Exchange are Ningguang and Xingqiu.

Paimon's Bargains seem to work on a regular half-yearly rotation, so here's who we can likely expect to see on offer in the Starglitter Exchange over the next few months:

• April 2023: Amber and Razor
• May 2023: Bennett and Lisa
• June 2023: Barbara and Kaeya
• July 2023: Fischl and Xiangling
• August 2023: Beidou and Noelle

Genshin Impact gets a new event banner every three weeks, so be sure to check back for news about upcoming banners! To get to grips with your odds of actually pulling that elusive 5-star character, check out our page explaining Genshin Impact's pity system. In the meantime, if you're eager to get wishing but have made the commendable choice not to put your real money into a gacha, our guide on getting more Primogems in Genshin Impact can help you to maximise your in-game earnings.