miHoYo
Documents about miHoYo
TWiG #296: THE RETURN OF LONG LOST HOST + Black Myth Wukong Goes Ape Shit and Stormgate Flops
The global gaming industry is currently navigating a period of intense volatility characterized by shifting player engagement patterns and the unsustainable escalation of AAA production costs.
- The gaming industry is facing a crisis of unsustainable AAA production costs and a stagnant hardware install base, forcing a shift away from traditional $70 premium models toward shorter, high-impact experiences or live-service ecosystems.
- Black Myth: Wukong has shattered Steam records, demonstrating the massive, untapped influence of the Chinese market on global commercial performance.
- Market performance is increasingly polarized, evidenced by the commercial failure of the RTS title Stormgate due to poor execution, contrasted with the success of EA’s College Football 25, which leveraged brand nostalgia and strategic bundling.
Zenless Zone Zero Lags Behind Previous miHoYo Games
Zenless Zone Zero, the latest title from miHoYo, generated approximately $99.8 million in mobile revenue during its first month of global availability.
- Zenless Zone Zero generated approximately $100 million in gross mobile revenue during its first month, with $68.8 million originating from China and $31 million from international markets.
- In terms of net revenue, Zenless Zone Zero underperformed compared to previous miHoYo titles, earning $62.9 million compared to $176.4 million for Genshin Impact and $130 million for Honkai: Star Rail in their respective first months.
- Daily revenue for Zenless Zone Zero saw a significant decline within its first month, dropping from a peak of $5.19 million to approximately $670,000.
Tencent Leads Mobile Publishers by Revenue: H1 2024
Tencent maintains its dominant position in the global mobile gaming market, leading the industry in revenue for the first half of 2024.
- Tencent dominated the mobile gaming market in the first half of 2024, generating $3.2 billion in in-app purchase revenue.
- Scopely secured the second position with $931 million in revenue, nearly tripling its performance compared to the same period in 2023 due to the success of Monopoly Go!.
- NetEase ($912 million), Playrix ($873 million), and miHoYo ($764 million) rounded out the top five highest-grossing mobile publishers.
Zenless Zone Zero Revamps Gacha Games
The release of miHoYo’s Zenless Zone Zero serves as a case study for the evolving landscape of the gacha RPG genre.
- Zenless Zone Zero generated $24.6 million in its first five days, trailing the launch-period revenue of miHoYo's previous titles, Genshin Impact ($35.3 million) and Honkai: Star Rail ($55 million).
- The game achieved 7 million hours watched on live-streaming platforms during its release week, significantly lower than the peak weekly viewership of 14.5 million for Genshin Impact and 11.4 million for Honkai: Star Rail.
- Despite lower revenue and viewership, Zenless Zone Zero saw record-breaking pre-registration interest with over 45 million sign-ups, exceeding the combined pre-registrations of Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail.
DnF Mobile Hits $500 Million in Revenue in China
Dungeon & Fighter Mobile has established itself as a dominant force in the Chinese mobile gaming market, reaching a significant revenue milestone of $500 million across iOS and Android platforms.
- Tencent's Dungeon & Fighter Mobile has surpassed $500 million in revenue across iOS and Android in China, marking it as the most successful new mobile game launch of all time.
- Analysts at Niko Partners project that Dungeon & Fighter Mobile will generate over $2 billion in total revenue by the end of 2024.
- The game's strong performance has contributed to a 28% rise in Tencent's stock price since the start of 2024, adding approximately $91 billion to the company's market capitalization.
Zenless Zone Zero: Mobile Performance and Comparison to Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail
Zenless Zone Zero, the latest action RPG from miHoYo, achieved a significant global launch on July 4, 2024, generating $3.69 million in mobile in-app purchase revenue within its first 24 hours.
- Zenless Zone Zero generated $3.69 million in mobile IAP revenue during its first 24 hours following its July 4, 2024, global launch.
- The game's initial 24-hour mobile revenue trailed miHoYo's previous hits, with Genshin Impact earning $4.6 million and Honkai: Star Rail earning $8.3 million during their respective launch days.
- China is the primary market for the title, contributing 57.6% of total revenue, followed by Japan at 19.7% and the US at 11%.
Microsoft stands alone, Nvidia dominates, Embracer Group shakes up Industry!
The article reports on recent developments in the global gaming industry, focusing on corporate actions and market movements from mid-June to late-July 2024.
- Nvidia became the world's most valuable company in mid-2024, surpassing both Microsoft and Apple with a stock price reaching $136 following a 3.5% surge.
- Embracer Group completed a massive restructuring over the fiscal year, resulting in 4,532 layoffs, the closure of 44 studios, and the cancellation of 80 projects.
- Microsoft is positioning itself as the primary industry presence at Gamescom 2024, notably choosing to attend with a large booth while competitors Sony and Nintendo opted out.
Chinese Publishers in Live Streaming: Tencent, AI, and Esports
Chinese game publishers are currently navigating a complex landscape defined by regulatory uncertainty, shifting consumer preferences, and a drive toward technological innovation.
- Tencent dominated the Q1 2024 live-streaming landscape with 636 million hours watched, significantly outperforming second-place publisher Moonton, which recorded 101 million hours.
- League of Legends remains the top title for Chinese publishers with 478 million hours watched in Q1 2024, though only 4.9% of this viewership originated from Chinese audiences.
- Mobile gaming continues to gain traction, evidenced by the strong performance of titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (79.9 million hours) and PUBG Mobile (46.6 million hours).
One Punch Man Punches to #1 Downloads
The mobile gaming market experienced a notable shift in early 2024 with the release of the action RPG One Punch Man: World.
- Helldivers 2, developed by Arrowhead Game Studios and published by Sony, sold approximately 1 million units within three days of its February 8, 2024, release.
- One Punch Man: World reached #1 in global and US downloads upon launch, peaking at 17.2 million downloads on February 1, though daily volume dropped to approximately 85,000 by February 13.
- Despite high download volume, One Punch Man: World has struggled to monetize, with daily net revenue currently sitting around $50,000 after occasionally crossing the $100,000 threshold.
Genshin Impact Becomes Fastest Mobile Game to Hit $5 Billion in Player Spending
Genshin Impact has achieved a significant financial milestone, becoming the fastest mobile game to reach $5 billion in lifetime player spending.
- Genshin Impact reached $5 billion in lifetime player spending in 40 months, making it the fastest mobile game to achieve this milestone.
- The game is one of only 13 mobile titles in history to surpass $5 billion in total revenue.
- China is the leading market for the game with $1.5 billion in iOS spending, followed by Japan at $1.06 billion and the United States at $903 million.
2023 Korean Mobile Game Publisher Rankings
The 2023 Korean mobile game market analysis evaluates publisher performance through download and revenue rankings, highlighting a shifting competitive landscape between domestic and international firms.
- The share of overseas mobile game publishers in the total revenue of the top 10 mobile game publishers in the Korean market reached a record high of 20% in 2023, nearly doubling from 11% in 2022. This is the highest figure since 2019, indicating a growing role for foreign publishers.
- Four overseas publishers (miHoYo, 37GAMES, Century Games, Tencent) were in the top 10 revenue rankings in 2023, up from three in 2022. miHoYo was the highest-earning overseas publisher, with two titles in the top revenue rankings.
- NCSOFT maintained its #1 position in mobile game publisher revenue in the Korean market from 2018 to 2023, driven by its Lineage mobile series (Lineage M, Lineage W, Lineage2M).
State of Mobile Games in Japan
The analysis provides a comprehensive overview of Japan’s mobile-gaming ecosystem in 2024, measuring the market’s size, growth dynamics, and competitive landscape.
- Japan’s mobile gaming market generated approximately ¥2.5 trillion in total in-app purchase (IAP) revenue during the first seven months of 2024.
- Established intellectual properties remain the primary revenue drivers, with titles like Fate/Grand Order, eFootball, Pokémon GO, and the One Piece franchise collectively accounting for over ¥1 trillion in earnings.
- Advertising-derived income grew by 35% year-on-year, now representing 8% of total mobile gaming revenue, fueled by user acquisition campaigns on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram.