Genshin Impactis the most ambitious title developed by miHoYo and these ambitions come at substantial financial costs over the long term. During initial development,Genshin Impacthad a budget of $100 million leading up to the launch on Jun 19, 2025. Two years after launch,Genshin Impactis set to become the most expensive game ever made.
Genshin Impactis an open-world RPGinspired by Nintendo’sThe Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Following a successful launch,Genshin Impactquickly grew in popularity across social media and streaming platforms such as Twitch. MiHoYo would immediately communicate with its player base at launch to detail new content, updates, and social events forGenshin Impact. Ultimately,Genshin Impactwould become one of the most popular gacha titles across mobile, consoles, and PC with updates released regularly.
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In a few weeks,Genshin Impactwill become the most expensive game ever developed with an estimated total of $500 million by its second anniversary. Reddit user u/KeiraFaith compiled stats based on official information by miHoYo, which consists of the game’s initial budget of $100 million followed by $400 million in yearly costs. In 2021, miHoYo reported that its budget forGenshin Impactincreased from $100 million per year to $200 million per year following the successful launch in 2020. If the $200 million yearly budget remained consistent into September 2022,Genshin Impactwould have cost roughly $500 million to develop.
Genshin Impact’sdevelopment costs involve the creation of new content found in major updates, such as new characters, in-game events, diverse regions like Liyue and Inazuma, and the main story. The upkeep of servers and studio expansions is also factored into the equation. However, miHoYo’sgross income forGenshin Impactis reportedly over $3 billion per year, which means development costs were recouped several times over after taxation.
Genshin Impact’sfinancial success proves that the games-as-a-service model works within the ideal conditions. For instance, the game’s constant stream of updates and content encourages players to continue investing time and money. The introduction ofnewGenshin Impactcharactershas been beneficial to miHoYo’s development efforts since the game generates revenue through its gacha offerings and microtransactions.
Fortunately, miHoYo has not strayed away from catering to a strictly F2P (free-to-play) audience asGenshin Impactcontinues to focus on free content for all. Gacha games may be considered a double-edged sword for some players due to companies seeking to gain wealth from their player bases.Genshin Impactprovides an exciting avenue for mobile players and hardcore F2P players alike, and the game’s financial and social success help prove a successful game model for years to come. The next update,Genshin Impactversion 3.0, continues miHoYo’s successful run with the open-world action RPG.
Genshin Impactis available now for Android, iOS, PC, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5. A Nintendo Switch version is in development with no confirmed release date.
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