Not even two years after its initial release, Genshin Impact is on track to become the most expensive video game ever made. By September 2022, the game will have cost miHoYo a staggering $500 million.
Reddit user u/KeiraFaith broke down some official information from MiHoYo to arrive at this calculation. While Genshin Impact‘s initial budget was only $100 million, the developer released a statement in 2021 announcing that this had been bumped up to $200 million. Given the near-constant updates the gacha game receives, it’s no wonder it costs so much to maintain.
Over 700 people work on the free title. After paying these salaries, consider how much it costs to add full voice acting in four languages, manage servers, prepare marketing materials, and fulfill all other duties involved in running a live service title. $500 million almost sounds like a low figure.
The only currently playable game that comes close to this figure is Cyberpunk 2077, which came in at $316 million to develop.
Genshin Impact is currently preparing for Update 3.0, which will introduce the new Sumeru region along with the Dendro element, new Archon quests, and plenty of new characters. While no release window has been announced, many have speculated that it could drop by the end of August given the current six-week update schedule.
The official YouTube account for the game has been posting teasers for the new region, with the newest video uploaded at the end of July. Check it out below.
While it may be one of the most expensive games ever produced, it has done a great job bringing in money to recoup. The title has amassed over $3 billion in global lifetime player spending since it was released less than two years ago in September 2020. As noted by the above Reddit post, miHoYo makes $15 for every $1 it spends.
Genshin Impact is available to play on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and mobile devices. A Nintendo Switch version is currently in development.
