If just a few character PVs could already be treated as trump cards, sparking a frenzy among countless players in China, then once future versions were released one after another, there was no telling how excited those players would become.
Of course, Lin Yuan couldn’t possibly tell Da Zhuang any of this.
After all, people were unpredictable.
Even though they had worked together for half a year, he couldn’t be sure whether Da Zhuang might turn into an insider threat.
“President Lin?”
Seeing Lin Yuan just smiling without giving any solution, Da Zhuang started to get anxious.
“No need to worry.
I have everything arranged.”
Lin Yuan patted him on the shoulder.
“Alright…”
Seeing how calm Lin Yuan was, Da Zhuang nodded, finally feeling relieved.
After all, Genshin Impact was entirely under Lin Yuan’s control.
All of its design had come from him.
If Lin Yuan said there was no problem, then there must be a solution.
“By the way, give me a report on the current data.”
Lin Yuan was curious.
After releasing the three character PVs, how much had the game’s metrics changed?
Judging from the trending topics earlier, the numbers must have increased significantly.
After all, on a platform like Weibo, getting onto the trending list without spending a single cent was no easy feat.
And yet, on the trending list Da Zhuang had shown earlier— aside from the character PV, there were two more trending topics.
One was related to the game’s opening animation and overall quality, and the other was about its gacha system.
Three trending topics right after launch— for any game, that was already extremely impressive.
Genshin Impact had, more or less, gained a foothold in the domestic market.
Soon, Da Zhuang pulled up the real-time data.
“P-President Lin…”
For some reason, he began to stutter.
“The downloads… have already reached three million!”
As soon as he said it, the entire meeting room erupted.
“Three million?
What?
Didn’t we just pass one million?”
“Our original estimate was only two million for the entire first day.
How did it hit three million in just over three hours?”
“Are those character PVs really that effective?”
“I think it’s not just the PVs—the game’s quality is the key.
Players who tried it are recommending it to their friends.”
“Being free helps a lot too.
Since it costs nothing, people are willing to sign up after seeing the quality.”
“Agreed.
“Three million, huh…” Lin Yuan nodded, satisfied.
It seemed those PVs hadn’t been released in vain.
“What about revenue?”
Lin Yuan turned to Da Zhuang.
Aside from downloads, revenue was just as important.
After all, he owed the system 1.001 billion.
He had to earn it back through Genshin Impact.
“Let me check…”
Da Zhuang quickly typed on the keyboard.
“Twenty-two million!”
He shouted the number out loud.
In just three hours, revenue had reached 22 million!
It was a figure he had never even dared to imagine.
“And keep in mind, many players have only just finished the early quests and unlocked the gacha system.”
“So the real spike in revenue is probably still ahead.”
Swallowing hard, he added something even more shocking:
“Today’s revenue might even exceed 100 million…”
“That’s impossible.”
The finance director, Sister Xu, immediately laughed.
“Sure, 20 million in three hours is impressive—but you clearly don’t understand what 100 million really means.”
As a veteran in finance, she had a deep understanding of that figure.
After all, the total development cost of Genshin Impact was only around 100 million.
And it was being distributed on their own platform.
Ignoring taxes, if the game made 100 million on its first day— wouldn’t that mean it recouped its entire cost in a single day?
Even exaggerations had their limits.
As a graduate from a top university with years of experience in major companies, she had never even heard of something like that happening.
If it actually happened, it would go down in gaming history.
“I have confidence in this project, but facts are facts.”
She shook her head with a smile.
The programming lead, Xiao Wang, nodded.
“If we can reach 50 million on the first day, that’s already incredible.
After expenses, we could probably hit 100 million profit within a week.”
Everyone else agreed.
Even 50 million would far exceed their expectations.
Before launch, their target had only been 5 million for the first day.
The optimistic estimate was 10 million.
And in the worst-case scenario, just 1 million.
After all, the game had almost no marketing budget.
And as the first open-world game in the domestic market, it was a complete unknown.
No one could predict its outcome. Enjoying the story? Read on at g.com.
Now, projecting 50 million in revenue on day one— that was already beyond their wildest expectations.
The weight everyone had carried for half a year was finally lifted.
“Fifty million…”
Lin Yuan smiled.
He was already very satisfied.
Half a year of effort had finally paid off.
Even though 50 million sounded like a lot, in reality, it could be generated by just a few hundred—or even a few thousand—big spenders.
Unlucky players could spend over ten thousand just to max out a character, and even more for a fully upgraded weapon.
With Venti and Klee in the current banners, a single whale could easily contribute tens of thousands.
With the PV hype, there wouldn’t be a shortage of people going all-in on gacha.
“Right now, streamers account for over half of the game’s popularity.”
“Nearly 30% comes from regular players.”
“And the remaining 20% comes from gaming media and review forums covering it voluntarily—the numbers there are also quite significant.”
Da Zhuang read out the analytics report.
“Media accounts for 20%?”
Lin Yuan was surprised.
They hadn’t spent money on promotions or influencers.
“They’re just riding the trend—but it still helps promote us.”
“Of course, some genuinely like the game and promote it voluntarily, but those are rare.”
Da Zhuang explained.
“I see.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
“Oh, right, President Lin, there’s something else.”
The head of planning pushed up her glasses, her expression serious.
“We just received word—Tencent has already taken notice of Genshin Impact and is preparing to discuss potential cooperation.”
“Cooperation with Tencent?”
Da Zhuang froze for a moment, then laughed.
“Isn’t that like a weasel paying New Year’s greetings to a chicken?”
“I’d say ‘acquisition’ would be a more accurate word.”
Hearing that, everyone in the room tensed up and looked at Lin Yuan.
Although Tencent had a notorious reputation in the gaming industry, they were also known for offering very generous deals.
And the majority of shares in both Genshin Impact and MiHoYo were in Lin Yuan’s hands.
If Tencent offered something he couldn’t refuse…
then the ones who would suffer would be them—the employees.
Because once the game fell into Tencent’s hands, it would quickly turn into a soulless cash-grabbing machine.
And those who had actually built it would inevitably be sidelined or suppressed.