The most popular Genshin Impact new banner characters have been ranked by revenue generated in a new report, helping showcase which heroes resonated with players the most. Genshin Impact is an open-world action-RPG with heavy gacha elements, which means that its most popular characters are often locked behind its Wish system. Users who want to acquire a certain character need to "roll" for them, spending in-game currency earned via gameplay or by spending real-world money to do so.
Genshin Impact's popularity has helped sustain its massive playerbase even with its gacha elements, which are generally a turn-off for some consumers. The game's many environments, which are teeming with collectibles and enemies, help make gameplay variety more widespread, with quests, bosses, and other challenges scattered throughout to keep people busy. Hidden underneath the easy Breath of the Wild comparisons is a game with plenty of tactical, team-based combat combinations to consider, too, making it a draw for min-maxers looking to show off their understanding of the many Genshin Impact stat systems.
Ultimately, however, a lot of Genshin Impact's revenue is generated by its continued rollout of appealing new characters with unique abilities. In a report from Sensor Tower, the game's total revenue was revealed to already have surpassed $1 billion, while a breakdown of its most popular new banner characters was provided alongside their revenue generated on the first day of their release. Most Genshin Impact players won't be surprised by who ranked first, with Zhongli generating $15.5 million in revenue on his first day available in the Wish system. He's closely followed by Xiao, the closest the game has gotten to paying outright homage to Naruto's Sasuke, who generated $15.1 million on his first day of availability.
After that, there's a bit of a surprise, with Ganyu placing third with $14.8 million generated in her first day available. She's a popular DPS character with an element in Cryo that's fun to use, so it makes sense she'd do well, but her vastly outperforming Hu Tao comes as a little bit of a shock. The popular Liyue funeral parlor director generated $12.9 million on her first day during her release earlier in March. Finally, bringing up the rear with a steep dropoff in profits is the much-maligned Albedo, who was a Geo unit that immediately followed the most popular Geo in recent memory in Zhongli. That, coupled with his lack of in-game appeal, saw Albedo generate just $9.1 million during his first day of release.
All of these characters managed to make millions of dollars for developer miHoYo on their first day of release, however, which shows both how popular Genshin Impact is and how effective its gacha systems are. These are useful metrics in terms of gauging popularity, and also indicative of which characters might need a little more help the next time they're available with buffs. The Zhongli buff went over spectacularly with Genshin Impact players, and a major boost to Albedo's in-game performance - and a fix for his terrible haircut - would go a long way in making his inevitable return more noteworthy.
Source: Sensor Tower