Genshin Impact Version Update Found Please Start the Launcher – How to Fix

The more things change, the more they stay the same. Whenever a big game like Genshin Impact updates how something works, invariably, there will be error messages and general confusion. If you get an error message saying, “Version update found. Please update the launcher” when you try to play Genshin, here’s the fix.

How to Fix the Version Update Found, Please Start the Launcher Error in Genshin Impact

Believe it or not, the “Version update found. Please start the launcher” error in Genshin Impact isn’t actually a problem with the game at all, nor is it an issue with the Genshin Impact launcher. Instead, it’s because of HoYoverse’s change in how they deliver their games. A little bit before the release of Zenless Zone Zero, all HoYoverse games (save temporarily Honkai Impact 3rd) moved to the HoYoplay app.

In short, to fix the “Version update found. Please update the launcher” error, you need to download the HoYoplay application. And don’t worry. You don’t need to download any of your games again. Instead, when you launch the new app for the first time, follow these steps:

• Select Genshin Impact from the game library screen. If you don’t see the screen, click on the four square icon at the bottom left of the application.
• Click on the three-line icon to the right of the Get Game button.
• Select “Locate game.”
• In the menu that pops up, you can either:
  • Let the HoYoplay app search your PC automatically for the files
  • Manually direct the launcher to where GenshinImpact.exe is located. By default, you can find the Genshin file folder at C:\Program Files\Genshin Impact\Genshin Impact Game
• Allow the launcher to identify the files properly.
• If everything goes to plan, the Get Game button will swap to Launch.

With everything set up in the HoYoplay launcher, you can safely open Genshin Impact and get back to grinding. The process is the same if you play Honkai: Star Rail and Honkai: Impact 3rd. Zenless Zone Zero launched on the HoYoplay app exclusively, so nothing to do there.

I don’t foresee any launcher changes happening anywhere in the near, middle, or distant future, as now you can play all of HoYoverse’s games from a single location, and it’s probably easier for the devs to deliver updates if everything goes to the same place.

In any event, that’s how you fix the “Version update found. Please update the launcher” error in Genshin Impact. For more on the massive gacha hit, check out our guides hub.