Honkai Star Rail hits 10 million users, and it’s not even out yet

The Honkai Star Rail release date is still a little way off, but the new release from Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse is already lined up to become one of the biggest anime games in 2023 as the publisher announces a massive pre-registration milestone. It also announces that players who sign up for Honkai Star Rail ahead of release can earn themselves a character and some additional currency at launch, giving even more people cause to join.

This follow-up to HoYoverse’s Honkai Impact 3rd promises to blend the open-world adventuring and colourful character designs of Genshin Impact with turn-based combat mechanics that the game’s producer hopes will make Honkai Star Rail stand out and coexist with Genshin without overlapping its space too closely.

However that gamble pays off, players are clearly eager to try the game out. HoYoverse shares on the official Honkai Star Rail Twitter account that the game has now reached a whopping 10 million pre-registrations.

No doubt helping that number to grow is the pre-registration bonus reward, which gives you 20 Star Rail Passes (one of the game’s premium currencies that is used to summon characters) and the 4-star character Serval (Erudition: Lightning) just for signing up ahead of the launch on April 26.

Twitter users also have the opportunity to win a gift card by retweeting the celebration post, which will no doubt encourage many fans to share the promotion with their friends and further spread the word, so don’t be shocked to see that pre-registration number grow even higher by the time the game actually comes out.

As someone who enjoys the world, characters, and story of Genshin Impact and has a penchant for turn-based games that’s been laying somewhat dormant of late, I’m very excited to give Honkai Star Rail a shot once it arrives. From the looks of things, I’ll have plenty of like-minded company when I do.

Prepare for the launch by reading up on the Honkai Star Rail cast and voice actors, and check in on all the Honkai Star Rail codes you can use to earn some bonus goodies to help you get started. Until then, you might also fancy checking out more of the best turn-based games on PC to get those tactical muscles warmed up.