Genshin Impact is unlike any other game out there right now. It may share similarities in terms of style to games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and there are certainly other Gacha games on the market, but nothing matches its diverse cast of characters and huge open world that are all available for free.
Despite this free to play tag, it seems that many players, particularly on mobile, are dumping a lot of money into Genshin Impact. A recent report showcases just how much money the app earned during its first month on the market, and fans are shocked by the statistic.
From its release on September 28th up to one month later on October 27th, Genshin Impact has earned an impressive $245 million. This is purely on mobile, and doesn't take into account the amount of money that players on PC or PS4 have spent trying to get 5-star characters in Genshin Impact.
The information comes by way of SensorTower, and shows how Genshin Impact stacks up when compared to other high earning games on the store. At least for this first month, it earned the number one spot for top grossing mobile game, beating out the second place choice, Honor of Kings, by almost $30 million. PUBG Mobile follows it up behind there, bringing in just under $200 million, and even Pokemon GO lags behind Genshin Impact at $122 million. Especially when considering how much money PC and PS4 gamers must have spent on the game, the numbers are staggering.
All of this comes from the game's ever divisive Gacha system. In order to get specific characters or powerful pieces of equipment, players have to spend real money in order to earn more wishes in Genshin Impact. There's been heavy debate about the morality of this system, as some relate it to gambling while others defend it since the rates for everything are clearly laid out. Regardless of how fans feel about the Gacha system, it appears to be working very well for miHoYo. This has sparked some concern amongst fans that the Gacha system will become more common in mainstream games, though there's no reason to worry about that just yet.
It should be said that most of this money likely comes from what gamers sometimes refer to as "whales." These are people that spend a lot of money, sometimes thousands of dollars or more, on in app purchases. Between big name streamers, YouTubers, and the average consumer, it's not hard to see where these numbers came from.
Genshin Impact is available now on Mobile, PC, and PS4, and later on Switch.
Source: Sensor Tower