Beijing: Genshin Impact, a video game released by Shanghai studio miHoYo in September 2020, is set to generate US$4 billion in worldwide sales by the end of 2022, making it one of the most popular mobile games of all time and the most popular mobile game in China. marks the rise of games made.

A December report from US app analytics company Sensor Tower said the game had experienced "long-term success in major mobile game countries". Nearly two thirds of revenue was generated outside China, with Japan, the US and South Korea as the top three international markets.

Separately, Genshin Impact was also cited as the "most talked about game" on Twitter in 2022, with 12,571 tweets and nearly 4 million retweets, according to data from UK-based market research firm Fancensus.com. The next three games on the list, Final Fantasy XIV, Elden Ring and Splatoon 3, are grouped together.

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While the domestic gaming market remains stagnant due to tight regulatory controls and low consumer spending, Chinese mobile games have the potential to attract players from around the world, as demonstrated by the success of Genshin Impact.

The world's second-largest economy now has access to new sources of foreign income thanks to strong overseas revenues generated by Chinese games such as Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile, two of Tencent Holdings' most lucrative games.

Genshin Impact is an anime-style action role-playing game that last year brought in as much money as China's entire washing machine export industry.

According to China's customs data, the country earned US$2.6 billion from the export of 19 million washing machines in the first 11 months of 2022.

Within six months of its release, Genshin Impact had grossed US$1 billion, three months faster than Pokémon Go. It had 37.3 million downloads on the year as of its second anniversary in September, down only 7% from the same time the previous year.

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According to a report by Yena Yu, a strategist at Sensor Tower, the success of Genshin Impact can be attributed to several factors.

"The localization was more carefully crafted for each region, going beyond simple translation of in-game content, such as casting well-known voice actors in each region for dubbing."

Its ongoing success has also been largely attributed to regular updates and the introduction of new characters, she continued.

At year-end awards in Google Play and Apple's App Store, games made in China stood out. Genshin Impact received Best Ongoing Game honors on Google Play's annual list of Best Apps for 2022, joining other Chinese winners such as Deslight by Shanghai-based Lilith Games and Fantasy Tower by Shenzhen-listed Perfect World.

By acquiring ownership, holding shares, or entering into partnerships with international developers, Chinese video game companies are getting closer to exerting greater influence over non-Chinese games.

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According to South Korean media, for example, Tencent recently bought a 20% stake in Shift Up, the studio that created the popular game Goddess of Victory: Nikke in South Korea.