Free-to-play Genshin Impact grosses $100m in just two weeks

Free-to-play Genshin Impact has grossed over $100 million in less than two weeks since it launched at the end of September.

According to Niko Partners' senior analyst Daniel Ahmad, the open-world game – though free-to-play – is thought to be "the most successful launch for an original IP from a Chinese developer" ever, noting particular success in China, Japan, Korea, and the US.

"According to data from [game industry analysts] Sensor Tower, the game was the #2 highest-grossing game globally on iOS in its first week," Ahmad added in a subsequent tweet (thanks, Siliconera). "According to data from App Annie the game was downloaded more than 23 million times on iOS / Android in its first week. Will break RMB 1 billion mark soon."

"Genshin Impact has been able to offer a core open-world RPG experience, scaled across multiple platforms," Ahmad concluded. "It's accessible (F2P / Multi-Platform), Immersive (Open World / Deep gameplay mechanics) and focuses on quality (Graphics / Story). Engagement drives monetisation."

As our pals at PC Gamer point out, with the game's budget thought to be circa $100 million, this means developer miHoYo has likely recouped its development costs in just 12 days.

ICYMI, Genshin Impact is getting a small update in November with bug fixes and quality of life improvements, and a bigger one in December that adds a new zone. That's according to a new blog post and Q&A from MiHoYo detailing the roadmap for new Genshin Impact content, which extends into 2021.

As Jordan detailed at the time, the first update, version 1.1, is expected to arrive November 11. As roughly translated by Zlunlu on Reddit, that's when we'll get an encyclopedia for monsters, small animals, and plants, as well as a tool to help track down treasure chests, the ability to heal without opening the food menu, and an equipment lock to keep you from accidentally selling valuable items or using them to level up equipment. 

Don't miss our essential Genshin Impact tips if you're jumping in for the first time. No, really - you need to know this stuff..