Action RPG Genshin Impact had a massively successful launch last year and continues to be an extremely popular game. This obviously made it quite profitable for developer miHoYo, but exactly was an open question until one Reddit user managed to piece things together.
Reddit user Otaku_Rune32 revealed that Genshin Impact made more money in its first year than any other game. They determined this by collecting information from various sources, including Business Insider, VentureBeat, Gameindustry.biz, and more.
Otaku_Rune32 compiled their results into three charts shared on the Genshin Impact subreddit. The first two look at the 12 games with the highest first-year earnings. The Reddit user acknowledges some margin for error, as game developers are generally hesitant to reveal sales numbers. Still, based on the data that Otaku_Rune32 collected, Genshin Impact brought in at least $2.3 billion in its first year, with a high-end estimate of over $3.5 billion. It just edges out Fortnite, which made between $2.3 billion and $2.8 billion in its first year.
The third chart compares the revenue of developer miHoYo to major gambling companies. While the Chinese studio can’t match giants like MGM Resorts, it still manages 8th place in 2020 earnings. A chart showing other game developers and publishers might have been relevant as well, but the comparison is still interesting.
Otaku_Rune32 breaks down how they came to the $2.3 billion to $3.5 billion estimate in the comments. Developers confirmed that Genshin Impact made about $2.1 billion on Google Play and the App Store. That figure excludes revenue from PC, PlayStation, and 3rd party Android storefronts. The minimum estimate of $2.3 billion assumes that mobile revenue accounts for 90% of the game’s total profits. The larger figure of $3.5 billion is based on mobile instead accounting for only 60% of total revenue. That would mean the PC and PlayStation releases brought in an extra $1.4 billion. While Otaku_Rune32 acknowledges the estimate may be high, they feel confident in that figure based on the sources linked to in the comment.
The graphs also show how other major games stack up. Grand Theft Auto 5 came in third with $2.1 billion, narrowly beating out the remake of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at $2.05 billion. Animal Crossing: New Horizons comes in fifth with $2 billion in its first year. Monster Strike, Candy Crush, Puzzle & Dragons, PUBG, Lineage M, and Pokémon Go round out the rest of the top 12 list.
Again, Otaku_Rune32 based these numbers on estimates rather than confirmed proceeds. Still, even at the lowest estimate Genshin Impact at minimum breaks the top two in revenue. Simply rivaling Fortnite is enough to impress, and Genshin Impact’s highest reasonable year-one estimate puts it head and shoulders above the competition.
Genshin Impact is available now on Mobile, PC, PS4, and PS5, with a Switch version in development.
Source: Otaku_Rune32 on Reddit
