A weekend crossover event among the wildly popular Genshin Impact and Kentucky Fried Chicken had to be shut down at locations in Shanghai and Hangzhou after apparently violating China’s ongoing covid-19 prevention measures, the fast food chain. announced on the Chinese social media site Weibo today.
Genshin Impact-themed KFC restaurants across China drew huge crowds at night as fans lined up for a chance to score special pins featuring playable characters Diluc and Noelle, who have been used to the ongoing crossover
According to analyst Daniel Ahmad, customers was asked to shout, “Meet in a different world, enjoy delicious food!” from employees to get a pin with their meal.
While some may find the strict lockdown tactics overbearing, China has largely gotten the pandemic under control within its borders after the global outbreak began in Wuhan city a year ago. Life is back to normal for the most part, at least when compared to the United States.
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It is unclear what specific mandate or directive these KFC meetings violated, but it is understandable that the Chinese authorities would be wary of bringing massive crowds together for hours on end.
Genshin Impact developer miHoYo recently said that it plans to release the exclusive, in-game items currently on offer as part of this KFC crossover – including a red and white glider skin and special recipes – to players around the world sometime in the future . The pins that caused this nighttime crowds in physical locations are likely to remain exclusive to China.