MiHoYo, a Chinese Game Developer, Doubled its Sales Despite Pandemic Thanks to 'Genshin Impact'

Sieeka Khan, Tech Times 23 February 2021, 08:02 am

The coronavirus pandemic has caused millions of people worldwide to stay at home for months. Due to this, a lot of businesses flourish as the demand for their products skyrocketed.

Such is the case with the Shanghai-based game developing company MiHoYo, the creator and publisher of the popular video game "Genshin Impact", as the company racked up more than 5 billion yuan or $774 million in sales in 2020 alone.

Genshin Impact sales

The revenue of MiHoYo doubled in 2020, and is now recorded as one of the biggest video game hits during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. This is all thanks to the massive popularity of the video game "Genshin Impact" that debuted in September 2020.

In an online speech, the co-founder and president of MiHoYo Cai Haoyu said that the company increased its headcount by 70% to 2,400 in 2020. A representative of the company declined to comment on the sales figures which were first reported by GameLook.

Also Read: 'Genshin Impact' Dainsleif ALL Questions and Best Answers; Can He Change Elements?

In just two months after its release, "Genshin Impact" generated almost $400 million in global player spending on mobile, according to Sensor Tower.

The game, which is also available for PC and consoles, is one of the few games of MiHoYo that is taking off in the global market, benefiting from the boom in the gaming industry as demand for entertainment increased when people had to stay at home for months due to COVID-19.

Launched in 2011 by Cai and two other classmates at Jiaotong University, MiHoYo has garnered a loyal fanbase among the anime and manga fans for its past mobile hits like "Honkai Impact 3rd."

The revenue of the company back in 2018 was close to 2 billion yuan, the studio told local media at the time. An executive at famous gaming companies like Tencent Holdings Ltd. and NetEase Inc. have praised MiHoYo as a promising, up-and-coming competitor.

What is Genshin Impact about?

"Genshin Impact" is a role-playing action game that features an open-world environment and a system that is action-based and uses elemental magic and characters that can switch. It also uses gacha game monetization to get to have new characters, new weapons, and other materials.

The video game is set in a fantasy world called Teyvat that has magic and dragons. Players can unlock their characters and their weapons through loot boxes wherein they need to pay with real money.

"Genshin Impact" is online-only, and it has a limited multiplayer mode that allows a maximum of four players to play the game together. The game was released for PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android in September 2020. The video game is also set to be released on Nintendo Switch and on PlayStation 5.

Despite its popularity, the game drew criticism for having the same elements from "Zelda" saga for the Nintendo Switch console, according to Wired.

The game "Zelda" is one of the most popular video games of all time and was nominated in two categories for The Game Awards last year. Luckily, "Genshin Impact" was able to hold on its own and get a loyal fanbase.