‘Genshin Impact’ Earns $60 Million in First Week to Become Second Fastest-Growing Mobile Game

With Epic Games’ “Fortnite” out of the running on mobile devices because of its ongoing feud with app store developers, a new game called “Genshin Impact” from Chinese developer miHoYo eagerly stepped up to take players’ cash and generated $60 million in its first week of sales. Online role-playing game “Genshin Impact” was the second highest-grossing mobile game on app stores, behind Tencent’s “Honor of Kings,” according to new data from app researchers SensorTower. The game debuted on the Google Play and iOS App Stores on Sept. 28 and miHoYo also distributes a version for consoles. “Genshin Impact” is free, but gains revenue from purchases of in-game items — whether that’s to remove mobile ads, level up character skills or powers, or get new player characters and skins. Most of the game’s blockbuster sales were driven by Chinese buyers, who spent a combined $25 million on the game, SensorTower found. Roughly 58% of the game’s revenue comes from players outside China, including Japan and the U.S., and it’s racked up $35 million in revenue from the rest of the world. American players spent about $8 million on the game since its launch, about 13% of the total revenue. SensorTower analyst Craig Chapple said the game’s debut “is one of the biggest global launches ever for a Chinese game publisher,” even though titles like this one usually debut with high levels of player spending in Asia. “What’s unique about miHoYo’s title is its success both at home and abroad, making it the number two grossing mobile game in the world in its launch week,” Chapple said in a blog post. “It’s a signal of China’s increasing global influence on the games market and the ability of its publishers to release universally successful titles, much like ‘PUBG Mobile,’ as well as the popularity of these types of expansive, console- and PC-like experiences as they increasingly become available on smart devices.”