Sci-fi trumps fantasy as Honkai: Star Rail surpasses Genshin Impact’s launch numbers
20 million downloads in a single day is an impressive start.
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Honkai: Star Railis off to a fantastic start, the official Weibo account has revealed. As spotted by analyst Daniel Ahmad, director of research & insights at Niko Partners, the follow-up toGenshin Impacthas already been downloaded more than20 million times, a mere day after launch.
This is a considerable bump when compared to the very successful launch of Genshin Impact, which was downloaded17 million timeson mobile on its first four days. It also went on togross more than $100m in two weeks, covering its development costs. The Honkai: Star Rail announcement seems to be focused on its mobile performance, rather than PC, so I’ve reached out to the developer to find out how it’s doing across the board.
Ahmad adds that it had30 million pre-registrations, 21 million of them coming from China. And while China is where it seems to be enjoying the greatest popularity, it’s still managed to claim the #1 spot on the iOS charts in more countries than any game before it.
Clearly the appetite for space trains knows no bounds. Or it might have something to do with Genshin being absolutely massive, giving Honkai: Star Rail an enthusiastic audience ready to try the next big thing.
I never quite got into Genshin, despite repeated attempts, because I just found the world a bit dull—I’ve spent too much time in brightly-coloured, verdant fantasy lands. Honkai: Star Rail, however, has really grabbed my attention. The turn-based combat is much more my speed, especially when I’m playing on my phone. Also it’s just deeply weird. It’s full of esoteric sci-fi bullshit and I can’t get enough.
Honkai: Star Rail codes:Redeem for free currencyTrailblaze EXP farming:Easy ways to level upTrailblazer builds:Strengthen your main character upMarch 7th builds:Power up the pink archerDan Heng builds:Sharpen that spear
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Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he’s been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He’s also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he’s not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.
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