Genshin Impact composer Yu-Peng Chen is leaving HoYoverse

Yu-Peng Chen, the lead composer for most of the music in Genshin Impact, is leaving HoYoverse to pursue his own dreams.

The announcement comes via his personal Weibo and Bilibili accounts, which have been translated and reposted by @_mika60_ on X (formerly Twitter) and u/super-grey on Reddit. Chen states that he is leaving HOYO-MiX (HoYoverse’s in-house music studio) to pursue his own career goals. He expresses confidence in the team he is leaving behind and announces plans for a solo album next year.

“I’m very sorry to disturb everyone! According to the plans for my personal creative endeavors, after careful consideration for some time and several discussions with the company, I have chosen to leave miHoYo and the HOYO-MiX team to continue pursuing my music dreams! Seeing my fellow composers at HOYO-MiX team constantly growing, witnessing Genshin Impact’s music progressing step by step (Fontaine Music is really great👍), and recalling the support and help the company and colleagues have given me during the music production process… It’s truly the most beautiful and unforgettable memories! I earnestly request everyone’s understanding and respect for my decision, and in the future, I will continue to explore the path of music. I plan to release a new album of purely instrumental music next year, and specific plans will be announced in the future. I hope you will continue to support my creations.

In the future, I will continue to explore Teyvat’s wonders together with everyone as a Traveler!”

-Yu-Peng Chen, translated by u/super-grey

The news comes after weeks of speculation after fans noticed that Chen was missing from the credits of many Fontaine tracks. Still, the new Fontaine music in Genshin Impact has been universally well-received.

Chen’s departure has yet to be acknowledged on Genshin Impact or HoYoverse’s official channels.

Yu-Peng Chen in Genshin Impact

Yu-Peng Chen has composed music for various films, video games, and TV series since 2009. Most of these had more of an Eastern audience, and it was Genshin Impact that propelled him into the hearts of Western fans. His fanbase only grew as more tracks were added to Genshin’s soundtrack, earning him nicknames like Yu-Peng Chad or the Music Archon.

He was the sole composer for most of the music in Genshin Impact until partway through Inazuma’s release, when more composers began to appear in the credits. Even then, the tracks produced by other composers were kept to such high standards that players looked forward to each and every release.

On top of his compositions, you can listen to the voice of the man himself during the Scaramouche boss fight. The track Polumnia Omnia features Chen as the primary vocalist. You can hear him talk more about creating Sumeru’s music in this behind-the-scenes video. Azhdaha’s boss fight music is another iconic track that’s further explored in its own video. Other similar behind-the-scenes videos can be found in this list, if you’d like to see the creative process for older tracks in Genshin.

Chen will continue to influence Genshin’s music even after his departure, if indirectly. He’s set a new standard for video game music, and if Fontaine’s tracks are any indication, HoYoverse has no intention of dropping them. Genshin also loves to use recurring themes and motifs, so we can expect to hear melodies of Chen’s past work woven into new music going forward. If nothing else, we get to hear the relaxing main theme every time we log into the game and sit on the start screen. Chen describes the development process behind the main theme in a video.

Where will Yu-Peng Chen go from here?

According to Chen’s announcement, we can look forward to an independent album release sometime in 2024. After that, he may continue to produce music either as standalone releases or for other films and media. He’s said he would make an announcement for his future plans, so we’ll have to keep an eye out if we want to be sure.

It’s the end of an era for Genshin. The future looks bright though, and Yu-Peng Chen is nowhere near done with his music career.