Genshin Impact has made an incredible first week round grossing $60 million. Interestingly, the game is more popular outside its home turf in Asia.
2020 may be the year of the coronavirus pandemic but it is also the year of many unlikely gems. It is expected for games like Final Fantasy VII Remake, Ghost of Tsushima, and The Last of Us Part II to make big waves. But this year, there are also a couple of good surprises like Among Us, Hades, and the recent Genshin Impact.
In fact, in just four days, Genshin Impact was downloaded over 17 million times. This is a testament to how much of a good start the game is having.
Genshin Impact hitting $60 million in over a week
The expansive open-world game is currently on mobile, PS4, and PC. Sony and miHoYo haven’t released any data regarding the game’s performance on the PS4 yet. Since Genshin is not on Steam, it’s also hard to give an estimate on PC. But on mobile, it’s a different story.
According to data released by Sensor Tower, Genshin Impact has already grossed $60 million on mobile in just over a week. Against a budget of $100 million, that is already a monster performance.
Surprisingly, the game is even more popular outside China with around 58% of its revenue generated from overseas. Aside from China, the second-biggest spender is Japan followed by the United States.
It currently stands as the second-highest-grossing mobile title worldwide just behind Tencent’s Honor of Kings.
Why it became such a success
There are many factors linked to Genshin Impact’s success. First off, it’s free-to-play. The reason why millions of people downloaded the game is that they don’t really have to purchase it. But aside from that, it’s also a gacha game.
Gacha is a term used for games that employ a “vending-machine” type of mechanics similar to loot boxes. This means spending real money on randomized draws.
Most gacha games employ a “pay to win” strategy that makes it impossible for players to advance further into a game without making purchases. But that’s not the case with Genshin Impact.
In @GenshinImpact, you’re on a journey to find your lost sibling. But, first you have to wind through a mysterious world full of dangerous sorcery, and pick up skills to complete your perilous quest.
Get lost in this mystical RPG today: https://t.co/vbeLGdZrtl pic.twitter.com/yvs2evCNtT
— App Store Games (@AppStoreGames) October 6, 2020
In fact, players can progress hours upon hours into the game without needing to pay for anything. Theoretically, it’s possible not to spend real money on this RPG at all but most players don’t do that. The reason why Genshin Impact is successful is that players choose to spend on in-game purchases.
The game is so fun and so immersive that most players spend real money just to get the best of what it has to offer. Genshin is well developed and its overworld is so flavorful that players won’t run out of fun things to do.
In fact, its map is so expansive that it won’t lose to the likes of Red Dead Redemption II and even Final Fantasy XV. And take note, the game has only introduced two of its seven planned regions.
Right now, plenty of big-name gamers are hyping up the game even more on Twitch and YouTube. So it won’t be surprising if Genshin Impact ends up being Game of the Year if not even more successful.
Images courtesy of Genshin Impact/Facebook and Sensor Tower