Games Like Genshin Impact (2026): Wuthering Waves, NTE, Star Rail
The closest game like Genshin Impact on Android is Wuthering Waves. Open world. Real-time combat. Gacha. The fairest banner cousin is NTE: Neverness to Everness at 4.61 stars — Genshin itself sits at 3.27 from 5.23 million ratings on 18 September 2026. Same studio, not the same genre: Zenless Zone Zero and Honkai: Star Rail. Full gacha ranking: best gacha games. Anime split: best anime games.
In a hurry? Jump to: quick picks · 4 cousins · why Genshin is 3.27 · how we picked · the games · SDS Origin · pity · phones · comparison · how to pick · FAQ
A “games like Genshin” list that dumps every anime gacha is lying. Genshin is climb-anything exploration plus elements plus a 90-pity banner. Star Rail is a train and turns. NIKKE is a shooter. Ranking 2026 roundups (Androidlounge, Eneba) now name The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin and still fudge Tower of Fantasy’s shutdown. ToF is PS4-only on 20 October 2026 — Android is still patched. We scored the overlap, then opened Play.
Quick picks
| You liked Genshin for… | Install this | Play snapshot |
|---|---|---|
| Open world + action | Wuthering Waves | 4.33, no ads, IAP to $99.99 |
| Fairest limited banner | NTE | 4.61, no 50/50 on featured S-rank |
| Same studio, turns | Honkai: Star Rail | 3.72, 472 MB-class start |
| Same studio, short fights | Zenless Zone Zero | 3.09, no open world |
| Open world, almost no combat | Infinity Nikki | 3.54, dress-up exploration |
| Strategy + 3D world | Arknights: Endfield | 4.60, base + combat |
| Anime IP open world | SDS: Origin | 4.38, 1M+, 6 GB RAM / 25 GB |
| Monster taming action | MONGIL: STAR DIVE | 4.50, launched 15 April 2026 |
Four kinds of “like Genshin”
- Combat cousin. Open world, dodge, climb, a banner. Wuthering Waves. Tower of Fantasy if you accept ads and a 3.47 score.
- Studio cousin. HoYoverse feel, different shape. Star Rail (turns). ZZZ (urban action). Honkai Impact 3rd (stages).
- Banner cousin. Gacha rules you can live with. NTE has no 50/50 on the featured S-rank. Pity table: gacha guide.
- Vibe cousin. Anime, explore, pretty. Infinity Nikki. Not a fighter.
If you wanted “anime on a phone” and not Teyvat, stop here and open the anime list.
Why Genshin is 3.27 stars (and still #1 for some people)
Five million ratings do not lie, and they do not mean the game is small. People rage about:
- A huge first download and constant patches. Version 7.0 opened Snezhnaya on 12 August 2026. 7.1 is due 23 September. Codes: Genshin codes.
- Heat and battery. Mid-range phones throttle. Flagships still cook. See phone overheating.
- Pixel 11 compatibility — Google has said a HoYoverse fix is coming. No date.
- The 50/50. Worst case 180 pulls for one featured 5-star.
The world is still the biggest. That is why we do not pretend a 4.6-star new game “replaces” six years of map.
How we picked (18 September 2026)
- Had to share at least two of: open world, real-time action, anime look, gacha, cross-save to PC.
- Live US Play score, ads flag, IAP range.
- We kept Tower of Fantasy because lists always include it — then we print the ads flag and 3.47.
- Pity numbers come from our August gacha re-check plus current banners.
- Who / how: Live US Play scrape. Hardware mins for NTE (6 GB / ~20 GB) and SDS Origin (6 GB / 25 GB) come from publisher spec sheets, not the short Play blurb.
Games like Genshin Impact on Android
1. Wuthering Waves — closest overall
Dev: Kuro Games | Pity: 80 | 50/50: Yes | Rating: 4.33 from 517,806 | Installs: 10M+ | Ads: None | IAP: $0.99–$99.99
Faster fights. Wall run. Unlimited sprint. Darker world. Version 3.6 landed 20 August 2026. Weapon banner pity is 80 and guaranteed, which Genshin’s weapon banner is not. Preload sizes: 3.6 preload.
Best for: people who liked the sword, not the teapot. Skip if: you wanted cozy exploring and a gentle curve.
2. Neverness to Everness — fairest banner, city not continent
Dev: Hotta Studio / Perfect World | Pity: 90, no 50/50 on featured S-rank | Rating: 4.61 from 141,428 | Installs: 5M+
Highest score of the open-world gachas here. You hunt anomalies in a city. Drive. Fish. Shop. Limited banners do not flip a coin. That one rule is why F2P players moved. It launched 29 April 2026. Publisher min spec is a Snapdragon 855-class chip, 6 GB RAM, Android 10, about 20 GB free. Play reviews still flag lag and crashes on phones. The map is not Teyvat-sized yet. Patch notes: NTE 1.3.
Best for: banner fairness + city life. Skip if: you want six years of chests on day one.
3. Arknights: Endfield — strategy brain in a 3D world
Released: 22 January 2026 | Rating: 4.60 from 90,990 | Installs: 5M+ | Pity: 80, safety net 120
Factory, grid brain, real-time fights. It is Genshin-shaped in the trailer and Arknights-shaped in the head. 4.60 is the other high score. Needs a good phone.
Best for: people who liked puzzles more than gliding. Skip if: you wanted a solo anime road trip.
4. Honkai: Star Rail — HoYoverse, turn-based
Rating: 3.72 from 522,980 | Updated: 13 August 2026 | Pity: 90, 50/50 | Package: com.HoYoverse.hkrpgoversea
Same company. Same Primogem-like grind. Not an open world. Best if Genshin’s combat was the part you skipped. Short sessions. Codes: Star Rail codes. Our anime list ranks it #1 overall for a reason: it runs on more phones than Genshin 7.0.
5. Zenless Zone Zero — HoYoverse, no map bloat
Rating: 3.09 from 165,775 | Updated: 26 August 2026 | Pity: 90
The 3.09 is a warning: size, requirements, and a loud minority. The combat is the best “15-minute Genshin” if you liked the fights and hated the mountain. Not an open world.
6. Tower of Fantasy — the first clone, ads now
Rating: 3.47 from 172,363 | Updated: 9 September 2026 | Ads: Yes | IAP: $0.99–$99.99 | Package: com.levelinfinite.hotta.gp
Same studio family as NTE. Open world. Grapple. It was the 2022 Genshin-like. The listing now flags ads. The score is 3.47. Perfect World is killing the PlayStation 4 client on 20 October 2026 (04:00 UTC) — not Android, PC, or PS5. Play NTE first if you want Hotta in 2026. Play this only if friends already live there. Official notice: PS4 end of support.
7. Infinity Nikki — open world, dress-up
Rating: 3.54 from 50,807 | Installs: 1M+ | IAP: $0.29–$99.99
You explore. You collect outfits. Combat is not the point. If Genshin was a walking simulator with extra steps for you, this is the cousin. The 3.54 is mostly size and shop gripes.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin — anime IP, heavy phone
Dev: Netmarble | Price: Free | Ads: None | IAP: $0.99–$99.99 | Rating: 4.38 from 58,153 | Installs: 1M+ | Package: com.netmarble.nanaori
Open-world Britannia. Tag-team combat. Cross-save. Ranking Genshin lists added this in 2026 and we would be the odd page out if we skipped it. Publisher min spec is Android 10, Snapdragon 855-class, 6 GB RAM, 25 GB storage. Reviews still call out heat, time-gates, and a spender endgame. 4.38 is fine. It is not Wuthering Waves.
Best for: people who already watch the show. Skip if: 6 GB is the whole phone, or you wanted a fair banner — that is NTE.
8. MONGIL: STAR DIVE — monster tamer action
Launched: 15 April 2026 | Rating: 4.50 from 77,364 | Installs: 1M+
Three-character tag combat. Creatures. Unreal Engine 5. Netmarble pitched it at Genshin. It is closer to a monster party than to climbing a statue. 4.50 is healthy for a 2026 launch.
9. Punishing: Gray Raven — combat only
Rating: 4.37 from 180,544 | Updated: 31 July 2026 | Pity: 60, no 50/50
Stages, not a continent. Best pity raw count on the gacha list. If Genshin’s fights were the only part you liked, this is the trainer. Not an open world.
10. Where Winds Meet — wuxia open world, not anime gacha
Rating: 4.27 from 57,702 | Updated: 14 September 2026 | Package: com.netease.yysls
Eastern fantasy MMO energy. Exploration. Skill, not a waifu banner in the Genshin sense. We list it because searchers who want “open world on a phone” land here. It is not Teyvat.
Pity, in one table
| Game | Hard pity | 50/50? | Worst case |
|---|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact | 90 | Yes | 180 |
| Wuthering Waves | 80 | Yes | 160 |
| Honkai: Star Rail | 90 | Yes | 180 |
| Zenless Zone Zero | 90 | Yes | 180 |
| Neverness to Everness | 90 | No | 90 |
| Arknights: Endfield | 80 | Yes | 120 safety |
| Punishing: Gray Raven | 60 | No | 60 |
Full genre table: 23 gacha games, pity compared.
Will it run on your phone?
- Mid-range / 6 GB: Star Rail, PGR, older Genshin settings. Cap FPS.
- Flagship + charger: Genshin 7.x, Wuthering Waves, NTE (6 GB / ~20 GB), Endfield, ZZZ, Nikki, SDS Origin (6 GB / 25 GB).
- Pixel 11: Genshin is a known broken case until HoYoverse ships the fix.
- Skip on 4 GB: the open-world pile. Play Star Rail or the lighter anime list.
Comparison (18 September 2026)
| Game | Open world | Action | Ads | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genshin Impact | Yes | Yes | No | 3.27 |
| Wuthering Waves | Yes | Yes | No | 4.33 |
| NTE | City | Yes | No | 4.61 |
| Endfield | Yes | Yes | No | 4.60 |
| Star Rail | No | Turns | No | 3.72 |
| Zenless Zone Zero | No | Yes | No | 3.09 |
| Tower of Fantasy | Yes | Yes | Yes | 3.47 |
| Infinity Nikki | Yes | Light | No | 3.54 |
| SDS: Origin | Yes | Yes | No | 4.38 |
| MONGIL | Action RPG | Yes | No | 4.50 |
How to pick
- Loved climbing and chests? Wuthering Waves, then NTE if you want a city and a fair banner.
- Loved the story on a train seat? Star Rail. Not WuWa.
- Loved 10-minute fights? ZZZ or PGR.
- Hated 50/50? NTE. Then PGR.
- Phone is warm already? Star Rail, or skip the genre. Open-world clients are 20–40 GB class problems.
Bottom line
Install Wuthering Waves if you want Genshin with sharper combat. Install NTE if the banner coin flip is why you quit. Install SDS: Origin only if the anime IP is the point and the phone has 6 GB plus 25 GB free. Stay on Genshin if the map is the hobby. Do not start with Tower of Fantasy in 2026 unless your friends are there.
Do this next: pick one cousin, not three. Finish the first region. If you still want pulls, read the pity guide before you touch a shop.
Related reading
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the closest game to Genshin Impact on Android?
Wuthering Waves is the closest: open world, real-time combat, gacha, no ads. Neverness to Everness is the closest if banner fairness matters more than a giant map. Honkai: Star Rail is the HoYoverse cousin if you want turns, not climbing.
Is Wuthering Waves better than Genshin Impact?
Better combat and movement for most action players, and a 4.33 score versus Genshin's 3.27. Genshin still has the larger world after six years and Snezhnaya in 7.0. Weapon banners are kinder in Wuthering Waves (80 pity, guaranteed).
Which Genshin-like has no 50/50?
Neverness to Everness. A limited S-rank on the featured banner is the featured character, with 90-pull pity. Punishing: Gray Raven also has no 50/50, at 60 pulls, but it is a stage action game, not an open world.
Are there games like Genshin Impact without gacha?
Not with the same live open-world budget on Android. Infinity Nikki still has outfit gacha. Paid open-world ports exist on our open-world list, like Red Dead Redemption, but they are not anime action RPGs. Treat 'no gacha Genshin' as a PC/console search.
Is Tower of Fantasy still worth it in 2026?
Only if your friends already play. The US listing flags ads, scores 3.47, and Hotta's newer game NTE is the one with the 4.61 and the fair banner. Start there instead.
Why is Genshin Impact rated 3.27 on Google Play?
Size, heat, crashes on some chips, and gacha fatigue. Pixel 11 is a known broken case. The 5.23 million ratings include years of patch pain. The world and 7.0 content are still the biggest in the genre.
What Genshin-like runs best on a mid-range phone?
Honkai: Star Rail, then Punishing: Gray Raven. Skip Genshin 7.x, Wuthering Waves, Endfield, and NTE on 4 GB RAM. Cap FPS and use Wi-Fi for first installs on anything with a 3D world.
Is The Seven Deadly Sins: Origin like Genshin Impact?
It is an open-world anime action RPG with gacha, 4.38 from 58,153 ratings, 1M+ installs, no ads flag, IAP $0.99–$99.99, package com.netmarble.nanaori. Publisher mins are 6 GB RAM and 25 GB storage. It is closer to Genshin’s shape than Star Rail. It is not the fairest banner — that is NTE.
Is Tower of Fantasy shutting down in 2026?
Not on Android. Perfect World is ending the PlayStation 4 client on 20 October 2026 at 04:00 UTC. Mobile, PC, and PS5 keep going. The Android listing still flags ads and sits at 3.47 from 172,363 ratings.
