Pizza Hut China and miHoYo, a Shanghai-based company responsible for the hit video game Genshin Impact, have teamed up to release limited-edition set meals across China.
The fast food franchise first announced the collaboration on Weibo in early August, and the set meals have been available to the public since August 29.
Genshin Impact, released in September of 2020, is set in the fantasy world of Teyvat and has been compared to Nintendo’s action-adventure game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Today, the game is estimated to have more than 60 million active users.
The three limited-edition set meals cost between 69 to 189 RMB (around 10 to 27 USD) and include themed items like Mora (the game’s currency), mouse pads, and dishware.
As stans of Genshin Impact will know, players can use ingredients they find in the game for cooking meals to replenish their character’s health. As part of the partnership, Pizza Hut dishes and drinks are currently featured in the game, a development that has greatly excited fans.
Some Pizza Hut servers have also dressed up in cosplay costumes for the collaboration.
A video of Eula Cosplayer in Pizza Hut pic.twitter.com/aAW69cq0W4
— Hikuran (@IHikuran) August 18, 2022
To say that the collaboration has been well-received by Genshin Impact fans would be putting it lightly; gamers formed snaking queues outside Pizza Hut branches across the country on Monday, the first day of the launch.
One fan allegedly rode the subway for three hours to get to a Pizza Hut, while another queued for more than four hours before being told to leave — but not without being given a poster first.
Others find the commotion ridiculous: “Why are the lines so long? Don’t people need to work or study?”
Some Pizza Hut branches were so crowded that the police intervened, forcing the businesses to shut their doors or turn away customers. At least two stores, one in Shanghai’s Global Harbor mall and another in Nanjing, stayed closed on Tuesday, August 30.
#GenshinImpact #pizzahut collab was so popular, it triggered a shut down in certain locations due to over crowding. https://t.co/TgMBghjeF9 pic.twitter.com/379Rg7Qqs3
— Rocket Punch (@RocketPunch1221) August 29, 2022
This isn’t the first time that Genshin Impact has formed a successful collaboration with an American fast food chain. In March 2021, the brand partnered with KFC to release set meals with highly sought-after badges — a partnership that also resulted in crazy long queues. We have little doubt that Chinese consumers can expect similar crossovers (and lines) in the future.
The Pizza Hut and ‘Genshin Impact’ meal kits will be available until September 17.
Cover image via Weibo