Genshin Impact Had Biggest Global Launch of Any Chinese Game
Genshin Impact has done incredibly well for itself so far. It’s only been six days since the open-world action RPG made its debut on PC, PS4, and mobile devices, but according to industry analysts, it has already become the largest global launch of a Chinese-developed game ever.
A report from The South China Morning Post reveals how successful the game has been internationally. Prior to launch, it was setting up for a strong start, having managed to gain over 21 million pre-registrations across all platforms — 16 million of which came from Chinese fans alone. This was followed up by Genshin Impact becoming the most-viewed game on Twitch the day it launched, amassing over 110,000 concurrent viewers.
The game has also made a fair amount of money so far, especially in China. According to app tracking firm Qimai Data, it’s already the second highest-grossing app on the Chinese version of Apple’s App Store, surpassing the country’s version of popular social media app TikTok. The firm estimates that the game has made over $1.84 million US on iOS alone as of this writing.
One thing that’s clear is developer miHoYo went all in on developing and marketing. The South China Morning Post report states Genshin Impact had a budget of around $100 million, much of which went into promoting Genshin Impact overseas. Now that that investment is starting to pay off, analysts interviewed by The South China Morning Post said this is a sign that Chinese game companies are quickly catching up to the Japanese, American, and European companies that traditionally make up the industry's biggest players.
It wasn’t always guaranteed that the game would be a hit internationally. When it was first announced, its similarities with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild left a bad impression with many gamers. The game’s use of gacha elements, like the “wish” system used to unlock new characters, were also not well-received in the west. That makes it all the more impressive that the game is finding a massive audience abroad.
According to Serkan Toto, CEO of game industry consultancy Kantan Games Inc., Genshin Impact has the potential to become a “super hit” for miHoYo in the long run. It certainly helps the game’s chances that it will be available on more platforms in the future. Already the game has been confirmed for the Nintendo Switch, and miHoYo recently stated it has plans for a next-gen version.
Genshin Impact is free-to-play on Mobile, PC, and PS4, with a Switch version in development.
Source: South China Morning Post
Post a Comment