How does Genshin Impact make money?
Genshin Impact is free-to-play (F2P) and is mainly monetized through gacha game mechanics through which players can obtain new characters and weapons. The game also features premium currency subscriptions, and a battle pass, which features a free and paid tier. Every few weeks, the game features several time-limited character banners on which players can use their in-game currency to wish for new, high-tier characters or weapons in a game of chance. Like loot boxes, gacha games aim to make players spend in-game currency to receive a random in-game item. In Genshin Impact, the featured characters are not outright guaranteed but their drop rates are boosted on the limited banners. The game also has a permanent "standard gacha" banner that always remains the same.In September 2022, the mobile app generated approximately 121 million U.S. dollars in in-app purchases. Genshin Impact also ranks among the fastest mobile games to generate 100 million U.S. dollars in player spending, a feat that the app managed in 13 days. The game is particularly popular in Asian gaming markets, with Genshin players in Japan, Singapore, and Hong Kong being the highest spenders on mobile.
Genshin Impact as an example of the games-as-a-service model
Genshin Impact is expanded on a regular basis through upgraded versions and patches using the games as a service model. New version releases happen once a year – the most recent Genshin version was 3.0 which saw the release of a new primary in-game region, Sumeru, in August 2022. The previous 2.0 version release featured the Japan-inspired island region of Inazuma (July 2021). Throughout each version, patches with gameplay fixes and new character banners get released every six weeks.These annual region updates and a continuous flow of in-game events mark Genshin Impact as a live service game. These in-game events are time-limited and offer players exclusive item and lore rewards and once over, they cannot be played again, heightening players’ FOMO if they do not participate.
How popular is Genshin Impact?
Genshin Impact was instantly a smash hit on mobile, accumulating more than 127 million lifetime downloads to date. In September 2022, the Genshin Impact app generated 4.51 million downloads worldwide. The game was also one of the most downloaded free-to-play games from the PlayStation Store in 2021 in the EU as well as the United States and Canada. Whereas the game is single-player and focused on a player-versus-environment (PvE) experience, the optional multiplayer mode for certain gameplay elements works across platforms, enabling players on different gaming platforms to experience the game together. However, beyond being able to add individual users as in-game friends, the game does not have any guild mechanics or player-versus-player (PvP) content, making it an outlier among top-grossing RPG apps.Despite this lack of competitive gameplay, Genshin still draws significant audiences on various digital platforms. In October 2022, Genshin Impact streams on video streaming platform Twitch were watched by an average of 18.2 thousand viewers with the most-watched Genshin Twitch streamer being Spanish streamer Putupau. Additionally, countless YouTube creators produce walkthroughs, Let’s Play videos, character guides, or other video content with millions of views. The official Genshin Impact companion app also keeps users engaged with competitions and the ability to post game-related content to the app’s audiences. The scale of user-based content highlights the importance of community engagement for a game to succeed post-launch.
