Genshin Impact Races Past $1 Billion on Mobile in Less Than Six Months

The mobile version of Genshin Impact from miHoYo has surpassed $1 billion in player spending in less than six months following its official launch on September 28, 2020, Sensor Tower Store Intelligence estimates show.

The title has been a global blockbuster since its release, having generated $874 million in just its first five months from the App Store and Google Play. Player spending has remained at an average of approximately $160 million per month since December, and so far in March the title has accumulated more than $148 million. That puts the game on track for its best month since October, when it picked up $233.7 million on mobile alone.

During the last 30 days, Genshin Impact ranked as the No. 3 revenue generating title on the App Store and Google Play combined, behind PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings from Tencent. Outside of China, however, miHoYo's smash hit has been the No. 1 top grossing mobile game, racking up more than $129 million internationally over the past 30 days. That also makes it the No. 1 RPG both in, and outside, of China.

Genshin Impact is the fastest title to hit the $1 billion milestone on the App Store and Google Play, taking just less than six months. That's quicker than Pokémon GO from Niantic, which took nine months, and Lineage M from NCSoft, which took 10 months.

Welcome Wishes

Genshin Impact's success is fueled by a substantial investment into the game's live ops, which is consistently implementing new events, features, and characters into the title. The introduction of these, particularly new characters, results in significant spikes in player spending. Hu Tao's introduction saw revenue rise to close to $13 million in a single day on March 2, while Xiao's appearance saw player spending hit more than $15 million on February 3. For comparison, Genshin Impact has generated $5.8 million a day on average since launch.

China ranks as the No. 1 market for spending in the mobile version of Genshin Impact, generating $302 million to date, or 29.5 percent of global player spending, via iOS alone (Sensor Tower does not track third-party Android store spending). Japan ranks No. 2, accumulating $278.3 million, or 27.2 percent, while the United States ranks No. 3 for revenue, picking up approximately $189 million, or 18.5 percent of the total.

The App Store accounts for the lion's share of global player spending, accumulating $615 million, or 60 percent of total revenue. Google Play, meanwhile, accounts for $409.4 million, or 40 percent of player spending. Outside of China, however, Google Play makes up the majority of revenue with 56.7 percent of player spending, while the App Store accounts for $313 million, or 43.3 percent.

International Impact

Few mobile titles have been as successful as Genshin Impact has been in such a short timeframe. It took 2020's top revenue generating title PUBG Mobile just over 16 months to hit its $1 billion in player spending after it began monetizing, while the No. 2 top grossing game, Honor of Kings required approximately 18 months to reach that milestone on iOS. Earlier this year, Brawl Stars from Supercell generated its first $1 billion after two years. It's an impressive feat—one that stems from a truly global audience and that is maintained by a substantial investment in new events, features, and characters on top of a rich world and rewarding gameplay experience.