Released this week, "Genshin Impact" is an open-world RPG that PC Gamer described as "phenomenal" and "the dark horse of 2020." Western gamers don't typically enjoy games that are funded through the gambling mechanic of "gacha," which puts "Genshin Impact" at a disadvantage, but it's selling like hotcakes anyway. Prior to its release, the game had garnered about 5.3 million pre-registrations outside of China. On launch day, the game surpassed Fortnite in stream viewers on Twitch, and the response from both streamers and press was generally positive.

The South China Morning Post cites reports that Genshin Impact is already the second top-selling social media app in China's Apple App Store, behind only the Chinese version of TikTok. SCMP also interviewed several industry experts were interviewed to get their opinions on the game's launch. Developer miHoYo has a development and marketing budget of about $100 million, much of which effectively promoted the game not only in China but also in Japan and the US. This is a clear sign that Chinese companies are rapidly building the skills and technology to challenge Western and East Asian game developers who are dominant in their home markets.

Despite many people's distaste for free-to-play games with loot boxes and early problems with kernel-level anti-cheats, Genshin Impact has been quite successful. Our own Steven Messner was candid in his overview of Genshin Impact, stating that he was never pressured to spend money while playing.

"It would be easy to dismiss 'Genshin Impact' as one of the dozens of "gotcha" RPGs that are notorious for their predatory microtransactions and exploitative progression schemes. You would be forgiven for suspecting so. I did too when I first started playing. But in the 20+ hours I've played (and become a bit obsessed with) since its release this week, "Gensho Ibunroku" has given me a gorgeous, dense world to explore, vibrant characters to meet, and a combat system that centers on skillfully mixing elemental magic to defeat enemies! . It quickly became one of my favorite RPGs of the year.

"Genshin Impact" can be found on the official website genshin.mihoyo.com.