Support NeoGAF

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Honkai: Star Rail’s spectacular launch is not all good news for Genshin Impact maker Hoyoverse, a new report has claimed.

Naavik’s in-depth write-up on Honkai: Star Rail suggests that it has already generated $1bn in revenue since it launched in April.

But after working hard to move many Genshin Impact players over to its new game, Naavik says creator Hoyoverse has found Star Rail to be less effective at monetising its audience. “On a portfolio level, Honkai Star Rail isn’t driving incremental revenue for Mihoyo,” says the report.

You can find more of Naavik’s workings here.

“Even though Mihoyo did see record revenue levels during Star Rail’s launch months, the total monthly portfolio revenue has come down to pre-Star Rail levels. In other words, it has clearly cannibalised Genshin Impact.”

“This cannibalisation is in large part driven by Mihoyo heavily promoting Star Rail to Genshin Impact’s audience, plus working with many Genshin Impact influencers to stream Star Rail instead. While it’s generally wise to lean on your portfolio’s audience to drive future product success, the fact is that Star Rail and Genshin Impact are both time-consuming with insane spend depth, and players have both limited time and budgets for gaming.”

“It’s quite simple: Genshin Impact players are spending more time and money in Star Rail and therefore not as much in Genshin Impact anymore.”

Naavik’s data.ai numbers suggest that Star Rail’s revenue per download is tracking below Genshin Impact.

The report goes on to state that Star Rail is not as “revenue efficient” as Genshin Impact if you look at the two games’ revenue per download curves. “At month five, Star Rail’s iOS US RPD is -40% lower than that of Genshin Impact’s ($3.32 vs $5.48),” says Naavik. Star Rail also does not monetise as well as Genshin Impact in the West, according to data.ai numbers.

Naavik’s writers go on to theorise that the relative weakness is down to Star Rail’s gacha system being overly generous in the early part of the game, a lack of things to do in the endgame and middling live ops engagement. It also notes that there was relatively little in the way of monetisation testing before global launch.

Naavik pulls data.ai figures to suggest Star Rail’s revenue is cannibalising Genshin Impact and not generating incremental revenue for Hoyoverse.

The report concludes: “While Star Rail’s current success is commendable, its path to $5 billion is still questionable. Even though the game is a breath of fresh air to turn-based RPGs, had a great launch, and was able to attract Western players, it is now cannibalising Genshin Impact, not generating incremental revenue for Mihoyo, and clearly has some product issues to work through to become more revenue efficient.”

“Further, Star Rail’s launch clearly showcases some cracks in the Hoyoverse strategy. Mihoyo needs to rapidly learn from Star Rail’s launch implications and figure out how to not make the same mistakes with their next new game launch.”

Honkai: Star Rail has likely passed $1bn already – but has seriously eaten into Genshin Impact's earnings - Mobilegamer.biz

A new report from Naavik suggests that Hoyoverse has moved players from Genshin to Star Rail only to find the latter doesn’t monetise as well.

mobilegamer.biz

 

[XesqueVara]

Half a Billion just from China, Holy Fuck

 

[theclaw135]

Launching a new game while your current game is raking in that much money, bad form.

 

[Unknown Soldier]

Turns out people do have limits on how much they can play in a day and how much they can spend

I've mostly dropped Genshin when I started playing HSR, farming is much less annoying in HSR with auto battle

 

[Danjin44]

I would give their game a chance once they decide to make a game without F2P online only gacha crap......If Cygames can do it with GB Relink so can they......but I guess they are just too greedy for that.

 

[Icymanipulator]

As someone who plays both games, part of the reason for lack of spending in Star Rail is that there isn’t a lot to do.

It may be one of the games only faults imo. Lack of content. Right now what story that is there is good, but there’s not enough of it. It also won’t take long to catch up the story if you play regularly.

Once you get caught up with the story, there’s less incentive to pull, you don’t actually need any of the characters to see 99% of the games content.

The story is great, the writing is hilarious, the character designs are amazing, the animations in battle are fluid and visually stunning, the battle system itself is quick and snappy, also very satisfying. BUT what does it matter if they will add just 1 new world a year (so I’ve read)
And for the type of game it is (+ how successful it’s been) you think they would be able to make content for this faster. It’s not like Genshin which is a huge open world, with a real time 3D action battle system. Star Rail is turn based, and the maps are far more enclosed due to the nature of the game and genre.
I just don’t understand why there isn’t more…

 

[RuneFactoryFanboy]

I play Genshin and this may sound sad, but I wonder how much of drop in financials is related to how weak the new Waifu game has been. Most of the new units have been dudes, and Dehya sucked as a unit.

As someone who plays both games, part of the reason for lack of spending in Star Rail is that there isn’t a lot to do.

How complicated of an RPG is Star Rail?

It interests me and I love turn based RPGs, but I find a lot of developers subscribe to this belief that more complication/convolution = more depth, and that's the opposite of what I want. Multiple layers of mechanics to keep track of, and characters with book long skill descriptions require more energy than I want to put into my RPGs.

 

[Doom85]

I would give their game a chance once they decide to make a game without F2P online only gacha crap......If Cygames can do it with GB Relink so can they......but I guess they are just too greedy for that.

Played Arknights for two years without spending a dime. Still got to pull a few good 5 Stars with the currency you can earn in-game. The key is to have patience and build up your pulls currency while waiting for a banner of a character you truly want, rather than just pulling every time you can afford a 10-pull.

Genshin was a bit more stingy with earning currency in-game, but even so I was able to pull a 5-star I wanted when their banner returned, for another 5-star I wanted I pulled off banner which was nice, and getting the 4 star I wanted on banner was done on first pull as getting their 4 stars is really easy.

I’m just saying, unless you lack self control, some of these games can easily be enjoyed without spending money. Granted, a few other gacha games are more stingy about letting you earn currency in-game, but if Honkai Star Rail is on the level of Genshin in this regard, it shouldn’t be too bad.

 

[ssringo]

I play Genshin and this may sound sad, but I wonder how much of drop in financials is related to how weak the new Waifu game has been. Most of the new units have been dudes, and Dehya sucked as a unit.

I had started (re)playing the game last year (iirc) and not only played a lot but also bought a bunch of stuff. But between Dehya, the bland ass costume releases and the leaks of upcoming character designs from the next (current) story zone killed all interest in continuing. Just didn't like the direction they seemed to be going. The godawful mats grinding doesn't help. Nor does the plethora of great games we've been getting this year.

Last time I logged in was just to burn my remaining pulls getting Nahida on her rerun. Got her and never returned.

 

[Utamaru1706]

For Genshin, the characters that were released in the past 6 months were kinda weak, since most of them were re-runs, while many players is still waiting for the new Fontaine characters like Furina, Chlorinde, Navia, and Arlecchino.

We should be seeing some improvements on Genshin's earnings starting patch 4.2, in which Furina is scheduled to be released, where she's currently the most anticipated Fontaine character.

 

[Danjin44]

Played Arknights for two years without spending a dime. Still got to pull a few good 5 Stars with the currency you can earn in-game. The key is to have patience and build up your pulls currency while waiting for a banner of a character you truly want, rather than just pulling every time you can afford a 10-pull.

Genshin was a bit more stingy with earning currency in-game, but even so I was able to pull a 5-star I wanted when their banner returned, for another 5-star I wanted I pulled off banner which was nice, and getting the 4 star I wanted on banner was done on first pull as getting their 4 stars is really easy.

I’m just saying, unless you lack self control, some of these games can easily be enjoyed without spending money. Granted, a few other gacha games are more stingy about letting you earn currency in-game, but if Honkai Star Rail is on the level of Genshin in this regard, it shouldn’t be too bad.

I will say this again if the game has SP contend then I should be allowed to play it completely offline, if I can I’m not buying the fucking game, period.

Granblue Fantasy Relink allows me to play EVERY part of the game solo and completely offline if I want to. No one even would blame Relink if they went same route as Genshin since original GB was mobile gacha game and yet they decide not do it.

 

[Icymanipulator]

I play Genshin and this may sound sad, but I wonder how much of drop in financials is related to how weak the new Waifu game has been. Most of the new units have been dudes, and Dehya sucked as a unit.

How complicated of an RPG is Star Rail?

It interests me and I love turn based RPGs, but I find a lot of developers subscribe to this belief that more complication/convolution = more depth, and that's the opposite of what I want. Multiple layers of mechanics to keep track of, and characters with book long skill descriptions require more energy than I want to put into my RPGs.

It’s become one of my favorite jrpgs.

Very easy to get into. Game explains everything well.

Everyone has a basic attack, a skill, and an ultimate. They also have a “talent” but this is just a passive effect, skills cost a point, which is taken from a shared pool you get every turn.

 

[Doom85]

I will say this again if the game has SP contend then I should be allowed to play it completely offline, if I can I’m not buying the fucking game, period.

Sorry, I assumed your issue was purely due to it having gacha in it. I’m not really sure I understand why the game being online matters, I played Genshin entirely by myself, and Arknights has like barely any online interaction aside from the gacha (I think there was one bonus to simply having people on you friends list, but it was pretty non-essential IIRC).

 

[LakeOf9]

I've been waiting for Honkai to hit PS5 before I play it, I love Genshin

 

[Danjin44]

Sorry, I assumed your issue was purely due to it having gacha in it. I’m not really sure I understand why the game being online matters, I played Genshin entirely by myself, and Arknights has like barely any online interaction aside from the gacha (I think there was one bonus to simply having people on you friends list, but it was pretty non-essential IIRC).

Easy…. Sometimes my PS5 randomly likes to disconnects from online for some reason, sometimes my internet provider disconnects my internet because maintenance and more importantly eventually the severs will shut down and the game will no longer be playable.

unless the game is MMO or online focus game, I don’t see any fucking reason why the game should online only.

 

[Doom85]

Easy…. Sometimes my PS5 randomly likes to disconnects from online for some reason, sometimes my internet provider disconnects my internet because maintenance and more importantly eventually they severs will shut down and the game will no longer be playable.

unless the game is MMO or online focus game, I don’t see any fucking reason why the game should online only.

Mind you, I didn’t know your personal Internet situation, hence why I responded to you in the first place.

 

[Danjin44]

Mind you, I didn’t know your personal Internet situation, hence why I responded to you in the first place.

To me it’s strange these devs cant make one…..JUST ONE game with offline mode and with no F2P gacha crap, are they that greedy?

 

[Icymanipulator]

I've been waiting for Honkai to hit PS5 before I play it, I love Genshin

I’m going to switch from pc to ps5 when it drops. It will look glorious on my TV.

 

[Larxia]

Played Arknights for two years without spending a dime. Still got to pull a few good 5 Stars with the currency you can earn in-game. The key is to have patience and build up your pulls currency while waiting for a banner of a character you truly want, rather than just pulling every time you can afford a 10-pull.

Genshin was a bit more stingy with earning currency in-game, but even so I was able to pull a 5-star I wanted when their banner returned, for another 5-star I wanted I pulled off banner which was nice, and getting the 4 star I wanted on banner was done on first pull as getting their 4 stars is really easy.

I’m just saying, unless you lack self control, some of these games can easily be enjoyed without spending money. Granted, a few other gacha games are more stingy about letting you earn currency in-game, but if Honkai Star Rail is on the level of Genshin in this regard, it shouldn’t be too bad.

The thing is that there are a LOT more issues to it being a mobile / gacha game than just the gacha pull part.

Even if you ignore the gacha pulls, the game still feels like a mobile game, with all the frustration this brings.
The stamina (resin in genshin) system is HORRIBLE. I hate when games tell me how much I can play each day, limit my playtime, but ALSO force me to play every day without a break if I want to be able to do anything. Being limited to a specific amount of ressource each day and having to use it everyday to not waste it is a terrible design, makes the game feels like an obligation / job rather than just a game.

Adding to this the crazy amount of RNG layers in genshin (to grind artifacts) and you get something really stressful, tedious, horrible. I stopped playing because of the artifacts. I was at a point where I DIDN'T even want new characters, I have about 200 pulls ready (as a free to play account) on my account right now, but I'm not even pulling for any characters because I know that this will mean grinding artifacts for WEEKS, sometimes even MONTHS, every day. I just couldn't take it anymore and I gave up.

The progression system in regular single player RPG is MUCH better than in a game like this.

Yes genshin impact has a lot of qualities too, that's why I still played it a lot, the world is beautiful, the visuals are insane, gameplay can be quite fun with the right teams, exploration is great... But the mobile design of it kills it. I have a way better time playing regular single player games where the game is designed to have fun and not trying to hook you on something so you can spend money.

 

[Sakura]

I think it is a little early to be making the claims that the article is making.

 

[trent_the_gent]

These games make me feel like i'm so far out of the loop.

Genshin Impact looks like a BoTW knock-off that someone threw together in Unity in an afternoon and i thought that Honkey Tonk Railway was some sort of expansion to whatever Genshin Impact is.

Are these just mobile phone games that they are putting on consoles?

 

[HarryKS]

What a name though.

 

[Icymanipulator]

The thing is that there are a LOT more issues to it being a mobile / gacha game than just the gacha pull part.

Even if you ignore the gacha pulls, the game still feels like a mobile game, with all the frustration this brings.
The stamina (resin in genshin) system is HORRIBLE. I hate when games tell me how much I can play each day, limit my playtime, but ALSO force me to play every day without a break if I want to be able to do anything. Being limited to a specific amount of ressource each day and having to use it everyday to not waste it is a terrible design, makes the game feels like an obligation / job rather than just a game.

Adding to this the crazy amount of RNG layers in genshin (to grind artifacts) and you get something really stressful, tedious, horrible. I stopped playing because of the artifacts. I was at a point where I DIDN'T even want new characters, I have about 200 pulls ready (as a free to play account) on my account right now, but I'm not even pulling for any characters because I know that this will mean grinding artifacts for WEEKS, sometimes even MONTHS, every day. I just couldn't take it anymore and I gave up.

The progression system in regular single player RPG is MUCH better than in a game like this.

Yes genshin impact has a lot of qualities too, that's why I still played it a lot, the world is beautiful, the visuals are insane, gameplay can be quite fun with the right teams, exploration is great... But the mobile design of it kills it. I have a way better time playing regular single player games where the game is designed to have fun and not trying to hook you on something so you can spend money.

Well the stamina isn’t need for any story stuff in Genshin. Just if you want to grind materials, gold or books faster.

Also the RNG on artifacts doesn’t matter unless you’re trying to min max. The game will shower you with artifacts as you play and you’re bound to get some decent stuff, and if you level that stuff you’ll be fine for most of the content in the game.

The only thing you’re really grinding for is the last couple floors of Spiral Abyss.

I’ve found Genshin to be extremely f2p friendly.
Ya you probably won’t get all the characters you want, but that’s life I guess. All that’s said, I do think the game could be more generous. Star Rail is pretty good with the Jade payouts imo.

 

[Party McHardy]

So I guess this means Zenless Zone Zero wont be getting a release date anytime soon.

 

[NanaMiku]

I play Genshin and this may sound sad, but I wonder how much of drop in financials is related to how weak the new Waifu game has been. Most of the new units have been dudes, and Dehya sucked as a unit.

I think they're trying to get more fujoshi/female player. Fujoshi are really not scared to spend money for their husbando. That's why Mihoyo also have Tears of Themis.

 

[Fake]

I completed almost one year after quit Genshin Impact. The game is growing terrible with bad decisions, VA drama and questiable designs, so I not shocked his little brother is doing better.
I expect players to migrate to Honkai even more to the end of year.

 

[The Pleasure]

Honkai Rail Star sounds like convincing a girl to take it from behind. Is this what the youth are into these days? Tryin to get a little Honkai?