In 2020, as a result of the success of Genshin Impact, miHoYo, a Chinese game developer and animation studio founded in 2012, earned nearly $800 million. In an online address to alumni of Shanghai Jiaotong University, miHoYo co-founder Cai Haoyu discussed the Shanghai-based firm’s massive growth.
In his speech, broadcast by the Chinese website GameLook, Cai said the company's revenue doubled in 2020, reaching more than $774 million, mainly due to the sales of Genshin Impact, which launched in September 2020. MiHoYo also increased its staff by 70% to 2,400 employees in the last year.
MiHoYo, founded in 2012 by three students from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, first released Guns Girl, a pick-up-and-play arcade action game, in 2014. Since then, the studio has released a series of hit anime-inspired mobile games. In 2017, the company enjoyed global success with the release of Honkai Impact 3rd, a free-to-play 3D action mobile RPG.
The description of Genshin Impact on Google Play reads, “Step into Teyvat, a vast world teeming with life and flowing with elemental energy. You and your sibling arrived here from another world. Separated by an unknown god, stripped of your powers, and cast into a deep slumber, you now awake to a world very different from when you first arrived.
“Thus begins your journey across Teyvat to seek answers from The Seven — the gods of each element. Along the way, prepare to explore every inch of this wondrous world, join forces with a diverse range of characters, and unravel the countless mysteries that Teyvat holds.”
The game, an action RPG released for Microsoft Windows, PS4, Android and iOS, generated over $393 million on mobile devices within two months of its launch. The game, which was praised for its combat and open-world freedom, became the biggest international launch ever for a Chinese game, while in the US, the release was the biggest mobile RPG launch in history.
Genshin Impact, which won Google Play's Best Game of 2020 as well as Apple’s iPhone Game of the Year, is also expected to be released for the Nintendo Switch, though no release date has been announced yet.
Source: GamesIndustry