April 26 saw the release of Hoyoverse’s latest release, Honkai: Star Rail, and the game has quickly become a mobile gaming sensation, exceeding miHoYo’s previous smash hit Genshin Impact’s day one download figures of 17 million, reports Gamedeveloper.com. Notably, however, while Genshin Impact’s initial release included the PS4, Honkai: Star Rail is currently only available on Android, iOS, and Windows.
The game is reportedly the most downloaded iOS title worldwide and achieved a massive 30 million pre-registered users, 21 million of which came from China alone.
On the right track
Honkai: Star Rail’s success can be attributed to a number of factors. miHoYo’s Genshin Impact has become one of the world’s biggest cross-platform games, achieving three consecutive nominations for Best Mobile Game at The Game Awards, taking home the prize in 2021. This has given the company a significant pedigree in the games space, especially on mobile.
Adding to this, the Honkai series has a pedigree all of its own with the previous entry, Honkai Impact 3rd, reaching a milestone 35 million downloads in 2018. While Genshin Impact is inarguably the company’s biggest success so far, Honkai has a legacy all of its own, and the newest entry could take it to new heights, with mobile leading the charge.
The primary release focusing on mobile and PC also points to the company’s continued success on mobile devices. China’s strong preference for mobile gaming is echoed in the continued focus given to the platform by the country’s developers, including miHoYo. Judging by the strong opening, this focus has been successful, and the download figures are likely to continue to climb – there are still some ten million pre-registrations unaccounted for in the day one figures, and with the game seeing its one week anniversary tomorrow further rapid growth can’t be discounted.
We listed miHoYo as one of the top 50 mobile game makers of 2022.