Genshin Impact is one of the biggest games around, but it's mostly not played on PC. In fact, the console versions of the game are themselves something of an afterthought. Genshin Impact is set up such that all of its versions and ports are downstream of the game's mobile version, which is the flagship version. Accordingly, the game's pretty barebones by the standards of other gaming platforms, especially PC. In this article, we'll explain how you can unlock/uncap Genshin Impact FPS on PC.
Genshin Impact's Engine and FPS Locks/Caps
Since Genshin is a mobile game first, a console game second, and a PC game last, it was never really designed with high-framerates in mind. In the world of consoles and phones, 60 FPS is buttery smooth, and going beyond that isn't really even possible for the majority of mobile and console gamers anyways.
Genshin Impact was never really meant to be played on a high-end gaming rig with a fancy gaming monitor where you could crank up the graphics settings and still get hundreds of frames per second. Accordingly, the PC version is extremely barebones.
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You can adjust a few different graphics settings that adjust this and that bit of the game, but it's nothing impressive, and the game doesn't have many features you'd expect from a PC game, like the ability to uncap the framerate, which is otherwise limited to just 60 FPS.
Unfortunately, the game doesn't run at a particularly stable 60 FPS, either. Not because it's too graphically intensive, mind you, because it's not, it's a simplistic game designed to be able to run on low-powered phones, but because the game is particularly well-optimized for PC.
Regardless of specs or rig, you're going to stutter or microstutter occasionally. Depending on your personal setup, it may not be a big deal, giving you the slightest pause every here or there but largely fading into the background, or it could be more noticeable and leave you perpetually feeling like your experience isn't smooth.
Curiously, some iOS devices do actually support 120 FPS in Genshin Impact. This is a relatively recent addition, but 120 FPS isn't perfectly locked, but stutter on these versions of the game is similar to the 60 FPS PC version but it feels a lot more responsive and the stutters are less noticeable because of the increased framerate.
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How to Unlock FPS in Genshin Impact on PC
Unlocking Genshin Impact's FPS on PC is possible, but you will need a mod to do it. Head on over to GitHub and download the Genshin Impact FPS Unlocker. The only relevant file is the actual FPS Unlocker application.
Essentially, run the FPS Unlocker (as an Administrator will give you the best results), then start Genshin Impact, and the program should automatically find your Genshin Impact process, patch it, and let you play the game above 60 FPS, though the program is set to 120 FPS by default, which can be adjusted.
As a word of caution, be careful when using any mod with Genshin Impact. There's no reason that this FPS Unlocker mod should cause you any problems, but whenever modding an online game of this nature, you have to be careful. Bans are handed out quickly and in large numbers for such a popular game, and if you mistakenly get flagged for some kind of suspicious activity because of a mod, you may not end up with many options.
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However, this existential fear aside, there's another more pressing reason you may not want to use this mod to unlock Genshin Impact's FPS on PC: performance. This FPS Unlocker does, indeed, unlock your FPS, but it only makes the game's stuttering more of an issue. When uncapped, stuttering becomes a common problem across many different rigs.
What was once an occasional distraction becomes a constant annoyance, or this is at least the situation for many. Your mileage may vary, as everyone's rig is different, but given the nature of the engine's performance on PC, it makes sense getting the game to work at higher framerates wouldn't be so easy, as then the mode would have simply been included in the official PC version.
Regardless, it'll likely be a trade-off: stutter more but enjoy higher framerates, or suffer lower framerates but enjoy smoother overall performance. They aren't great options, unfortunately, but the situation could improve.
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In time, more features may be added to the PC version of the game. If iOS can receive a 120 FPS mode that works, then maybe PC can, too. Plus, PC can also receive all kinds of other features to make performance better, like DLSS support for one.
Now, there isn't much evidence to suggest these things are coming in the near future, but if the game continues to be extraordinarily popular and the PC version stays active, in time, patches are absolutely possible. Plus, with Steam Deck out, there could be renewed interest in the game on PC.
In a strange turn of events, the best way to play Genshin Impact is to play on a 120 FPS-capable iOS device, like a new iPhone or iPad. This is a rare thing to see, a mobile version of a game outshine a PC version, but given the nature of Genshin Impact as a mobile-first experience, it makes some kind of sense.
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