Inside DJ Tiësto’s Team-Up With ‘Genshin Impact’ Developer for New Urban Fantasy Game ‘Zenless Zone Zero’

DJ Tiësto has partnered with “Genshin Impact” maker HoYoverse for their recently released urban fantasy game “Zenless Zone Zero.”

The free-to-play action role-playing game, which launched July 4, introduced Tiësto’s new song “Zenless,” done in collaboration with Lucas & Steve Musical Freedom and Spinnin’ Records. The track blends Tiësto’s big-room beats style with sampling from “Zenless Zone Zero.”

“The track needed to capture the energy and vibe of the game, something that would resonate with players as they explore this incredible world,” Tiësto said. “Unlike my usual tracks where the mood evolves organically, this time I was directly inspired by the game’s visuals and story, which made the process really exciting and different.”

“Zenless Zone Zero” music producer Wutao Yang said HoYoverse’s collaboration with Tiësto “was formed due to the fact that we have chosen electronic music as one of the main genres we produce.”

“Naturally, the first thing that came to mind when thinking of artists to collaborate with was artists who both produce and perform their music,” Yang said. “The factors that motivated us to want to collaborate with Tiësto are twofold: First, I have been a fan of his music since the early 2000s and greatly respect everything he has achieved. Second, after communicating with Tiesto and his team online, it became apparent that we share many similarities in our approach to music, and everything just worked out naturally.”

For those who might be drawn into the game just for the Tiësto collab, the artist teases more reasons to stick around. “Without giving too much away, I can say that ‘Zenless Zone Zero’ is going to be a game that surprises a lot of people,” Tiësto said. “The world, the characters, the music—everything is designed to draw you in. And who knows? This might just be the start of more collaborations together in the future.”

Without confirming if Tiësto will team up with them again, Yang did say HoYoverse has more in-game collaborations in the works.

“In terms of in-game music, we will experiment with different styles of music based on the continued in-game updates,” Yang added. “As different players have different tastes and expectations towards music, we want to explore both unique and distinct styles of music, as well as more mainstream styles. We hope that the diverse range of music that can be heard in ‘Zenless Zone Zero ‘will appeal to a range of different audiences.”