Genshin Impact 2.6 release date, leaked banners, and confirmed characters so far

sportskeeda.com:

Genshin Impact 2.6's new banners will bring several powerful characters back to the game, along with the arrival of Kamisato Ayato, a powerful 5-star from Inazuma. Ayato wields the Hydro element, and utilizes the Kamisato House's unique swordsmanship style to cut his foes down.

Thanks to leaks, players can see the speculated 2.6 update banners, along with other update info in advance. Ayato will feature as the first banner of this update when it arrives on March 30, and fans can find out more about the upcoming banners here.

Genshin Impact 2.6 will feature the release of Kamisato Ayato on its first banner, arriving on March 30. Ayato has been long awaited by the community, and will also feature heavily in the update's main event, the Irodori Festival.

Players who have been looking forward to Ayato's release will finally be able to summon for him when this update arrives. Currently, it is believed that Ayato will run alone on the banner, though this may change by the time the update releases.

Ayato's banner will last until the update's second half, which is set to arrive on April 20. The exact contents of this next set of banners is unknown, but it is widely believed to be a rerun banner of some kind. Thanks to Genshin Impact's new rerun banner system, players will likely be able to anticipate two reruns running concurrently, which increases the likelihood of any of the speculated characters appearing.

The current leaks in the community are pointing towards Ayaka Kamisato being featured in a rerun, and at least one Anemo 5-star character being featured.

The arrival of an Anemo 5-star is almost guaranteed, thanks to leakers discovering a new buff in the Spiral Abyss targeting and boosting the strength of Anemo characters.