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Genshin Impact, a cross-platform role-playing video game developed and published by Shanghai-based miHoYo, has set a new standard for mobile video game earnings.
Since its launch in September 2020, the mobile version of the game has generated more than $1 billion in player spending, per Sensor Tower Intelligence. It’s the fastest mobile title to reach that mark on the App Store and Google Play, beating out Niantic’s Pokémon GO.
It took Pokémon GO nine months to generate $1 billion, but Genshin Impact got there in six. Its best month was October, when it brought in $233.7 million. China is Genshin Impact’s largest market, accounting for 29.5% of global player spending — $302 million in revenue. Japan is the second-largest, with $278 million in revenue so far.
Genshin Impact’s success has helped make miHoYo more competitive with Chinese conglomerate and mobile gaming leader Tencent. Tencent is behind PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings, the top two revenue-generating mobile titles in 2020.
But MiHoYo still has a long way to go to fully measure up. The company made $774 million in revenue in 2020. Tencent, by contrast, pulled in $73.8 billion.
