Tower of Fantasy is the talk of the town in the mobile game market. Hotta Studio, a Chinese indie developer, just announced pre-registration for this Genshin Impact clone. Players can’t help but notice the inspiration it takes from its competitor’s open-world exploration and anime-inspired aesthetics. However, many have also already vouched for the game’s quality separate from its inspiration. It might look like Genshin Impact on the outside, but it’s different at the heart. It’s separate enough to co-exist with its competition in case players get bored of one or the other.

If that’s the case, Genshin Impact fans might want to buckle up. Here’s what we know so far about Tower of Fantasy.

Does Tower of Fantasy have a release date?

Tower of Fantasy will launch sometime in Q3 2022. Q3 refers to the third quarter of the fiscal year, which starts on July 1 and ends on September 30. The Tower of Fantasy beta just ended on June 26, so the game likely won’t release as soon as the start of July.

Steam lists the release date as H2 2022 — a.k.a. the second half of the year. Meanwhile, the App Store lists it as August 11, 2022. However, this date hasn’t been confirmed by the developer. Either way, the answer is the same. Tower of Fantasy doesn’t have a release date yet.

How do I pre-register for Tower of Fantasy?

Tower of Fantasy just launched its official website. You can pre-register there directly with your email of choice. Enter your email address in the text prompt to send a verification link to yourself. Once you verify your email, you should receive a notification for successfully pre-registering.

There’s not much to do after that, though. The reply bot just sends a confirmation that you will receive pre-registration bonuses when the game comes out.

What are the pre-registration bonuses for Tower of Fantasy?

It’s in players’ best interest to get as many friends to pre-register as possible. Hotta Studio announced that the pre-registration rewards will depend on the number of registrants:

• 500,000 players: 1 Astra Frame, 2 Black Nucleus, 10 Wholegrain Bread, 2888 Gold
• 1 million players: 1 Limited Title, 3 Black Nucleus, 10 Fried Chicken, 4 Weapon Battery III
• 1.5 million players: 3 Gold Nucleus, 1 Avatar: Zeke, 10 Sizzling Meat, 3888 Gold
• 2 million players: 1 Jetpack Paint: Orion, 3 Gold Nucleus, 10 Crispy Grilled Fish, 4 Weapon battery III
• 2.5 million players: 1 Outfit: Star Sand, 4 Gold Nucleus, 10 Nut Tea, 6888 Gold

Does Tower of Fantasy have a trailer?

Yes! The Tower of Fantasy pre-registration trailer shows off the game’s pretty Genshin-like graphics, complete with a lush green scenery, climbing animation, and golden-haired character.

This trailer just dropped two days ago with the launch of the pre-registration website. One other trailer, the beta trailer, existed before it. However, it didn’t have as much to show off besides an outline of a story. Meanwhile, the latest trailer features foresty areas next to modern, technologically advanced ones, and lets us see three of the main characters in action.

What is Tower of Fantasy gameplay like?

Tower of Fantasy is a mobile-based RPG that uses a gacha system. So you don’t quite escape the microtransactions. Beta testers have been calling it “sci-fi Genshin Impact” for a reason. Genshin Impact players should also feel at home with the game’s open-world exploration and real-time combat. However, the gameplay and leveling systems are fundamentally different.

Genshin Impact banners include characters and weapons. You need at least four characters for a team, and you need to build each character with weapons and artifacts to boost their combat abilities. In Tower of Fantasy, you control one customizable protagonist and pull for weapons from the banner. You still should build your character with optimal weapons and the equivalent of “artifacts,” but you don’t need to worry about team composition like in Genshin Impact.

Hoota also advertises Tower of Fantasy as a “shared open world RPG.” It’s not like Genshin Impact, which has a limited co-op mode and no PvP options. Tower of Fantasy has PvP and PvE options.

A few other notable differences include the ability to traverse lands using vehicles (like in Final Fantasy 14) and interact with animals. One person used a motorcycle during the beta, which they said suited the landscape because it was sparser than Genshin Impact.

What is the Tower of Fantasy story about?

Tower of Fantasy takes place in a future where humans have started colonizing planets. One of those planets is Aida, which is now inhabited thanks to an interstellar colonization plan. The plan involves mining a powerful resource called Omnium from the comet, Mara. The Tower of Fantasy is an instrument that will help this new civilization mine the power it seeks. However, the plot description implies that there is a price to pay for doing so.

“But the humans who lusted after resources shall ultimately pay the price for their avarice,” the description reads. We’ll have to wait to see what that means.

Tower of Fantasy is currently in development for iOS, Android, and PC. You can wishlist it now on Steam or the Epic Games Store.