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Global gamers spent $ 245 million on Genshin Impact, a free, open-world role-playing game gacha from Chinese developer miHoYo, in the first month of the game’s release as of September 28, according to industry data provider Sensor. Tower.
During the first week since its launch alone, the game reported 200 million downloads on the Apple AppStore and Google Play, collecting about $ 60 million from in-game purchases. While players can start the game for free, the game makes money by encouraging players to purchase in-game virtual currency to obtain weapons and new characters.
Genshin Impact surpassed the imperishable titles of Tencent Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile, becoming the highest grossing mobile game in the world last month. Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile ranked second and third with revenues of USD 216 million and USD 195 million, respectively. It was followed by Niantic’s Pokémon Go and Mixi’s Monster Strike, with $ 122 million and $ 107 million in revenue. (Genshin Impact is also available on PS4 and PC, but the Sensor Tower date excluded sales on these two platforms.)
Genshin Impact’s first month revenue far exceeds other major global game launches. Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Heroes racked up $ 70 million in player spending during its first month, while Epic’s Fortnite collected $ 25 million in its first 30 days on the App Store. Pokemon Go, however, raised the most in its first 30 days, raising an estimated $ 283 million.
China was the largest market for player spending on Genshin Impact, generating more than $ 82 million last month, representing 33.5% of total revenue. Japan was the second largest market with $ 59 million, while the United States was the third with around $ 45 million.
The design of miHoYo in an open-world setting contributes to the game’s immense popularity, although Genshin Impact has also been looked down upon as a copycat from Zelda: Breath of the Wild. “Chinese game developers have long sought to capture Western audiences, without losing their home audience,” said Daniel Ahmad of Niko Partners, an expert on China’s games industry, in the Sensor Tower report.
“Genshin Impact is a great example of how Chinese developers are succeeding in the West by focusing on high production values, popular game mechanics, and deep progression systems.”
