Genshin Impact wins best game accolade from Apple and Google, extending China’s winning streak
- Developed by the Shanghai-based gaming company miHoYo, Genshin Impact has been a big hit since its official launch
- Genshin Impact’s success follows on from wins for PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile – developed by Tencent Holdings – in recent years
The anime role-playing action game Genshin Impact has won the best game award for 2020 from both Google Play and Apple’s App Store, extending the winning streak of Chinese-developed games for a third consecutive year.
Genshin Impact’s success follows on from wins for PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile – developed by Tencent Holdings – on Google Play in 2018 and 2019 respectively. “Any title crowned Best Game has to exceed expectations and deliver compelling, accessible, genre-defining experiences. Thankfully, this year’s winner does all this without missing a beat,” said Google Play on Wednesday.
Developed by the Shanghai-based gaming company miHoYo, Genshin Impact has been a big hit since its official launch on September 28. According to app tracking firm Sensor Tower, the open-world game racked up over US$60 million in sales in its first week after release.
And the game made US$245 million and US$148 million in October and November respectively, averaging US$6 million in earnings each day, according to Sensor Tower.
Chinese mobile games have become increasingly popular around the world in recent years, in an industry that is growing fast. According to market research firm Newzoo, the global gaming market will grow 19.6 per cent to US$174.9 billion this year. Mobile games are projected to account for 49 per cent of this, with estimated revenue of US$86.3 billion.
Newzoo’s report also puts China as the world’s biggest gaming market with estimated revenue of US$44 billion, followed by the US with US$41.3 billion.