Popular open-world action-RPG Genshin Impact won Game of the Year for iPhone devices in Apple's App Store Best of 2020 awards presentation, commemorating an incredible performance for the title's first year on mobile devices. Genshin Impact is unique in the sense that it is a mobile game that, by all accounts, appears much closer to something that would be available on Nintendo Switch. That's reflected in its availability, which, beyond iOS and Android, also stretches to PC and PlayStation 4.
Those concerned that Genshin Impact wouldn't be able to sustain the success that saw it generate millions in revenue in its first weeks of existence have had those fears assuaged over time, as the game continues to sustain both its popularity and its profitability. Genshin Impact has managed to cultivate a significant following in regions around the world, something that's even more impressive given its status as a gacha game - a title, usually on mobile devices, that has players "roll" for desired characters against some truly long-shot odds. Genshin Impact isn't overly stingy with its premium currency, though, and its free-to-play characters are more than enough for most to complete the challenges they want to, so the game strikes the kind of balance a gacha title needs in order to maintain a thriving playerbase.
The game's balance between compelling gameplay and exciting luck-based mechanics has helped propel it into the upper echelon of the App Store, something that's reflected in Apple's App Store Best of 2020 awards. Apple announced in a press release earlier that Genshin Impact won Game of the Year in the iPhone category, and it's no surprise to see developer miHoYo's title take down that accolade. Genshin Impact revenue remains strong and it's currently in the midst of adding more characters fans have been excited about for weeks, and that constant influx of new content into an already gigantic open world has helped keep players coming back daily.
Genshin Impact has been discussed constantly since its release and feels leagues ahead of many other mobile titles, so it wouldn't be a surprise to see it awarded with plenty more Game of the Year trophies in those categories. What will be interesting is seeing how the game fares in a broader scope - will it manage to snag any awards for, say, the best action-RPG released in 2020?
That might seem like a stretch in a year that's had no shortage of amazing games, but Genshin Impact achieving the level of success it's already enjoyed was also a pretty unlikely prospect prior to launch. For a game that keeps defying the odds, Genshin Impact winning Game of the Year for iPhone in Apple's App Store Best of 2020 seems like just one step on the road to even grander things, and it will be fascinating to see how the gaming world reacts to and adapts around such an innovative mobile title in the future.