How many people play Genshin Impact? — 2024 statistics

Genshin Impact has been downloaded more than 85 million times on mobile devices.

(Source: Statista)

• It took the game four days to surpass 17 million downloads on mobile devices.
• October 2020 has the highest number of downloads, as the game saw 17.69 million new installs.
• The lowest point was in November 2021, with “only” 3.45 million downloads.
• Before its global release, the game surpassed 20 million pre-registrations, and more than 5 million of them were from outside China.
• As of December 2021, it has been estimated that there were 3.33 million monthly active users on iOS and 1.43 million on Android.

When keeping in mind that the game was violently compared to Zelda: Breath of the Wild by Chinese and western players, the direction its popularity took is simply astonishing. But maybe the game actually did benefit from that comparison, fascinating the curiosity of many gamers. The number of pre-registrations originating from outside is quite significant for a purely original Chinese game going international right from the start. Before all the reviews were out, word-of-mouth did the trick, spreading like wildfire, and the game did not even need a whole week to start breaking records and expectations.

55% of Genshin Impact players are male, while 45% are female.

(Source: Udonis)

• In Japan, 77% of the player base is male, while only 23.1% is female.
• 27% of the player base is under 25, placing the average age around 35 years old.
• After Day 1, the game retained 43% of its player base, reaching 18% after Day 7. After Day 14 and 30, 8% remains, which is a decent number.
• 30% of players only play once a day, 14% do it twice, and 13% play at least 9-14 times a day!
• 27% of players play an average of 3-10 minutes per session, while 26% play for at least 10-30 minutes. But that is nothing compared to the 23% playing between 1 and 10 hours per day!

The gender ratio in the community is really balanced, signaling a product that has managed to mix elements that would suit everyone. Therefore, expanding its reach. The average age might be higher than one would have thought. Still, when you consider that the average age for gamers globally is 32-33 and that “otaku” culture in foreign countries started in the 80s, you will understand that it is not that surprising. All in all, Genshin Impact is appealing to young adults. Plus, the founders of miHoYo themselves are around that age, and like their motto says, “otaku are here to save the tech world”! Other than that, we notice that players are also really invested in the game, motivated by the RPG format Genshin Impact has adopted.

Genshin Impact key stats

With such success, everyone is curious about topics focused on revenues, profits, the number of downloads, and more information around the game itself.

Genshin Impact has made a total of $2.1 billion on mobile devices in its first year.

(Source: Gamerant)

• The game raked in $50 million in its first week across all platforms. The United States, Japan, and China were the most important markets.
• After two weeks, it had surpassed $100 million in revenue.
• In two months on mobile, Genshin Impact accumulated $393 million, generating around $6 million per day in player spending.
• China made up 30.5% of that revenue ($120 million) during this period. Japan was the second-biggest market with $98 million, and the United States was third with $74 million.
• In five months, miHoYo’s title reached $874 million of revenue in player spending. China was still the biggest spender at that time, accounting for 29% of that total ($253 million).
• The game grossed up to $620 million outside of China, and Japan represented most of that with $237 million. The United States was right behind it with its $162 million.
• Then, after six months on the market, Genshin Impact finally hit the $1 billion milestone. Most of it was concentrated in China and Japan, but the United States came third representing 18.5%.
• In October 2020, Genshin Impact made a total of $167.74 million, which is its best month yet. It is closely followed by September 2021, when the game brought home $163.5 million.
• Not including September 2020 and its $13.4 million, the slowest month for the game was June 2021 with $69.99 million.

We can see here the smashing success of Genshin Impact right from release day: the game had been out for less than 3 days, but it still managed to amass more than $10 million before the end of its launch month. Besides that, miHoYo is steady in its earnings, always crossing the tens of million threshold. The monetization system uses the gacha mechanics, which is widely accepted in China. Still, it has to prove itself in the West (even if we keep seeing it used way more often in MMO games). However, it is pretty well implemented in Genshin Impact. The title has different currencies that can be earned in-game or bought in the store in order to purchase unique items or pull gacha. There is also a Battle Pass that gives access to many extra items. It can be renewed after 40 days, and the Monthly Card will offer 300 gems upfront and a certain number of Primogems over a month. Of course, here again, the biggest worry is people developing a gambling addiction because of the gacha mechanics.

4. In 2020, the game won Apple’s “iPhone Game of the Year” and Google Store’s “Best Game of 2020”.

(Source: Apple/Google Play)

• It also won the Apple Design Awards for Visuals and Graphics 2021 and Best Mobile Game at the Game Awards 2021.
• It received several nominations, among which you can find Mobile Game of the Year at the Game Awards 2020 and the PocketGamer Awards 2020 or Ultimate Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards 2020.

Genshin Impact has certainly been recognized by the western gaming industry. It 

even won the TGS Media Awards Public Poll in Japan before its release. It is a shame its soundtrack is not acknowledged more often, considering how seriously they tackled it. The game is way more popular on iPhone, where it generated bigger numbers in revenues and downloads.

Genshin Impact usage stats

Time to take a closer look at how the community consumes the game. And the open world of Teyvat has a lot to offer to all curious adventurers. With 46 different characters, seven major nations (not all available for now as miHoYo follows a ‘one year, one region’ roadmap), particular domains like the Abyss, and many subquests, Genshin Impact is a treasure trove for gamers.

On Google Store US, Genshin Impact is the 4th most downloaded adventure game and the 3rd highest-grossing adventure game.

(Source: Sensor Tower)

• In Russia: The game ranks 3rd in Top Free Adventure Games and Top Grossing Adventure Games.
• In Indonesia, it is the 6th most downloaded game in its genre and the 3rd for player spending.

The countries used are where the game has been downloaded the most. Indonesia is even the country where it is the most popular on Google Store. Clearly, the game did not really lose any steam, as it is still making enough money through in-app purchases to be in the top 5. It can even boast about still being actively downloaded.

On iOS US, Genshin Impact ranks 14th on iPhone and 5th on iPad in the Top Free RPG Games category.

(Source: Sensor Tower)

• It ranks 2nd on iPhone and 1st on iPad in the Top Grossing RPG Games.
• In Japan: The game snatches second place on iPhone and the first spot on iPad as a free RPG game. When talking about in-app purchases, it ranks 5th on iPhone and 2nd on iPad.
• In Brazil: The title is the 6th most downloaded game on iPhone and the 4th one on iPad. It is also 4th on iPhone in the Top Grossing RPG Games category and 3rd on iPad.

iOS being the go-to platform for most mobile device players, the numbers are not too surprising. The United States is where the game has been downloaded the most (minus China since Sensor Tower cannot track their numbers). The game is also ranking better on iPad, but then, for a gorgeous game like Genshin Impact that places a lot of emphasis on visuals, it is normal for users to seek a bigger screen.

Genshin Impact is ranked #26 on Twitch.

(Source: Twitch)

• Over 7 days: the average number of viewers is 19,358, the average number of channels streaming the game is 1,182, the average number of viewers/channel is 16.4, and the number of hours watched is 3,261,899.
• The highest number of concurrent viewers was 605,406 in August 2021, and the highest number of channels streaming was 5,822 in October 2020.
• On average, there are 16,697 viewers and 896 active channels.
• The game is not streamed more during the weekend, but there are still 7% fewer viewers.

Genshin Impact scores a good rank considering that it still managed to appear amongst all those MMO titans. Most of the time, the streams that are the most interesting to people are the ones where they get to see their streamer in front of other players. Plus, streaming an RPG is not always easy, considering that you will grind and do a lot of stuff that has nothing to do with the main story. It speaks volumes that it still has a good rank on Twitch and found its public on there too.

Kazuha is considered to be the best fit to finish the Spiral Abyss domain as he was used 96.1%.

(Source: Spiralabyss)

• Zhongli comes at the second spot with a use rate of 92.8%, and he is followed by Bennett and his 92.6%.
• At the fourth spot, we find Shougun with 90.4%, and finally, Xingqiu rounds off the top 5 with 88.2%.

The Spiral Abyss is a special domain with extra challenges and bosses, and it has 12 floors (and more to come in future updates). Think of it as the equivalent of those post-game dungeons in RPGs that are unlocked in specific ways and have 100 floors with the hardest enemies. The data here was acquired through a sample of over 10,000 players who perfectly finished the domain, with all stars earned. Fun fact: Zhongli was a really hated character when it was first introduced, as it lacked balance and good points. Chinese players even took offense, seeing as the character is clearly representing their country, but was the worst in the whole roster. 

To sum up

Except if stated otherwise, keep in mind that most of those numbers refer to the app on mobile devices. For some reason or the other, miHoYo did not reveal the numbers coming from PC and PlayStation. And those are difficult to track for third parties, contrary to content on mobile. But what it also tells us is that once the player bases on PC, PlayStation consoles, and third-party Android devices (widely used in China after its kerfuffle with Google) are added, those numbers must simply go through the roof and reach the Moon.

That global domination is understandable, though. The production value behind Genshin Impact is fantastic and professional. The title could be an AAA game, but totally free to play and not being sold at $60 minimum, with DLCs coming out each month. The graphics are gorgeously vivid with a cel-shading effect suiting the anime vibe perfectly; the soundtrack is beautiful with the compositor working with three different philharmonic orchestras; the environments follow a harmony based on their respective element and lore; the gameplay is intuitive and easy to understand; the story is compelling, and the lore is vast and full of surprises with inspirations taken from Chinese culture. Plus, the game is cross-play across all the platforms and cross-save between PC and mobile devices. What is there to not love? Except if you are not into anime/manga and JRPG at all… 

That huge fame found abroad can only be seen as a blessing for the company. Indeed, the ruthless new laws enforced by the Chinese government limiting the number of hours and the days young people can actually spend playing video games are hurting Chinese developers. With a roadmap planned until at least 2025 and a group of developers who seem to know what the people want (most of the time), miHoYo is surely not done yet with the world of Teyvat.