Honkai: Star Rail reportedly hit 20 million downloads within a day of its April 26 release.
According to industry analyst Daniel Ahmad and Chinese social media website Weibo, the newest title from
Hoyoverse (formerly MiHoYo) is off to a strong start. By comparison, Genshin Impact had a reported 17 million downloads in its first day day of release back in September 2020, and 23 million within a week of release.
It’s even more impressive considering that Star Rail reached that milestone on just PC and mobile devices. When Genshin hit that 17 million milestone, it was partially because the launch platforms also included the PlayStation 4.
Ahmad added that before its official release, Honkai had 30 million pre-registered players, with 21 million of those coming from China. It’s also reportedly the most downloaded iOS game across the globe.
Honkai: Star Rail follows on from previous installments in the turn-based RPG series, such as 2016’s Honkai Impact 3rd, which likely helped it gain traction. It also doesn’t hurt that the game is coming on the heels of Genshin, which has been extremely popular over the years.
The success of Genshin has been so large that it’s becoming an anime series from studio Ufotable (Demon Slayer), and future merchandise. If the success of Honkai continues to grow, it’s likely that game will receive similar treatment.
In addition to those two games, Hoyoverse is also in development on Zenless Zone Zero, a role-playing game currently set for release on PC and iOS at a later date.