Six years, seven nations, dozens of updates, and Genshin Impact is still No. 1. Sensor Tower estimates HoYoverse’s open-world gacha made about $50.23 million on mobile in September 2026, taking back the top spot in global gacha revenue. Plenty of newer games look sharper or hand out more freebies, but when anniversary month comes around, Teyvat still wins.
$50 million and a 30% jump in a month
In August, Genshin sat behind Fate/Grand Order at around $38.4 million. In September it climbed past $50 million, roughly 30% more in a single month. The gap to second place isn’t small either: close to $15 million.
A quick caveat so nobody reads too much into it. These are estimates for the App Store and Google Play. In China, where Google Play doesn’t operate, Android spending is modelled from iOS. PC and PlayStation, where Genshin has a huge player base, aren’t counted at all, so the game’s real revenue is certainly higher. Still, for comparing gacha games on the same yardstick, Sensor Tower’s monthly chart is what the whole industry looks at.
Gacha revenue ranking, September 2026
| Rank | Game | Estimated revenue | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genshin Impact | ~$50.23M | Up ~30%, back at No. 1 |
| 2 | Naruto Mobile (China) | ~$35–36M | China-only release |
| 3 | Honkai: Star Rail | ~$35–36M | Up from ~$29.7M |
| 4 | Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle | ~$27M | Up 14 places |
| 5 | Love and Deepspace | ~$19.54M | 3D otome game |
| 9 | Wuthering Waves | ~$16.25M | Genshin’s closest rival |
| 10 | Fate/Grand Order | ~$14.39M | Down 9 places after anniversary month |
| 18 | Zenless Zone Zero | ~$11.49M | Down 12 places |
HoYoverse holds two of the top three spots. Add Zenless Zone Zero and the studio’s three games pulled in close to $100 million on mobile in one month. Fate/Grand Order, meanwhile, fell from over $41 million to about $14 million. Anyone who follows FGO knows the pattern: late July and August is the Japanese version’s anniversary season, players spend heavily, and September cools off.
September is Genshin’s month
Follow Genshin long enough and you’ll notice September is strong every year. The game launched on September 28, 2020, so late September is always anniversary season, with plenty of rewards and new characters timed to match. This year three things stacked up:
- The second half of 7.0: Version 7.0 opened Snezhnaya on August 12, the seventh and final nation of Teyvat that fans have waited six years for. Its second phase ran into early September.
- Version 7.1 on September 23: two new 5-star characters, Vesna (Anemo) and Vodyanitsa (Hydro), headlined the first banners, alongside two new acts of the Chapter 7 Archon Quest.
- The sixth anniversary: login rewards, anniversary events and, according to guide sites like Game8, a free 5-star character selector this year.
Free rewards sound like they’d hurt revenue, but it works the other way. Anniversary gifts bring lapsed players back, and once they’re back and see a new character banner, keeping the wallet shut gets hard.
Why is a six-year-old game still winning?
Six years is a long time for a gacha game. Plenty of big launches slide out of the top 20 within a year or two. Genshin has stayed on top by doing a few unglamorous things consistently:
Updates like clockwork. Version 7.0 arrived on August 12 and 7.1 on September 23, exactly six weeks apart. That rhythm has barely changed in years. Players know when the next character is coming and can save Primogems for it. A gacha game whose schedule players trust is a game they’re more willing to spend on.
A world that still has something to look forward to. From Mondstadt in 2020 to Natlan and now Snezhnaya in 2026, each region brings a new culture, a new orchestral soundtrack and a new stretch of story. Snezhnaya is also home to the Tsaritsa and the Fatui, a storyline left hanging since day one. Long-time fans had every reason to return right now.
For a lot of people it’s simply a habit. Six years is enough for a whole group of players to grow up with the game, with favourite characters, friends to play with and a community making fan art, cosplay and music. For them Genshin feels less like a game to try and drop and more like a long-running series reaching its climax.
Star Rail keeps pace, Wuthering Waves and ZZZ fall back
Honkai: Star Rail is the other name worth watching. It went from about $29.7 million in August to around $35–36 million in September, up about 20%. So both HoYoverse siblings rose together; Genshin didn’t simply pull players away from Star Rail.
Wuthering Waves, the game most often compared with Genshin, was ninth at about $16.25 million. Zenless Zone Zero dropped 12 places to 18th at around $11.49 million. Gacha revenue swings hard with each banner, so one weak month doesn’t say much on its own. It does show that when Genshin plays its strongest hand of the year, similar games struggle to hold attention.
The other two surprises: Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle jumped 14 places to fourth with about $27 million, and Love and Deepspace held fifth at around $19.54 million. The 3D otome game is aimed at women and has long shown that audience spends as much as anyone.
What this means if you play
Topping the revenue chart doesn’t make a game more predatory, and it doesn’t mean you have to pay to enjoy it. Genshin’s full story is still free to play, and anniversary updates are usually the best time to come back because the rewards pile up. If you’ve been away for a while, this September and October is a good window: Snezhnaya is fresh, the story is at its most intense and the anniversary gifts are still waiting.
And if you’re thinking about spending, remember that high revenue means a lot of people are paying, not that you should follow them. Set a budget first, wait for a character you genuinely want, and don’t forget the free rewards sitting in your mailbox.
Genshin Impact revenue FAQ
How much did Genshin Impact make in September 2026?
Sensor Tower estimates Genshin Impact made about $50.23 million on the App Store and Google Play in September 2026, around 30% more than the roughly $38.4 million it made in August. PC and PlayStation are not included.
Which gacha game earned the most in September 2026?
Genshin Impact was first at about $50.2 million, followed by Naruto Mobile (China) and Honkai: Star Rail at around $35–36 million each, then Dragon Ball Z Dokkan Battle at about $27 million and Love and Deepspace at about $19.5 million.
When did Genshin Impact launch?
Genshin Impact launched on September 28, 2020 on PC, PlayStation 4, iOS and Android, so it turned six on September 28, 2026.
Why did Genshin’s revenue jump in September 2026?
September covered the second half of Version 7.0 in Snezhnaya, Version 7.1 on September 23 with two new 5-star characters, Vesna and Vodyanitsa, and the sixth-anniversary rewards. That is usually when lapsed players come back and spend the most all year.
Are these revenue figures exact?
No. They are Sensor Tower estimates for the App Store and Google Play, with Android in China modelled from iOS, and they leave out PC and console. Treat them as a trend indicator, not HoYoverse’s financial results.
OtaHub’s take
$50 million isn’t a shock, but it does show something important: six years in, Genshin isn’t running out of steam. It didn’t win on one hit character or a flashy promotion. It won on a steady update rhythm, a world with stories still left to tell and a community that has been around too long to walk away. Snezhnaya is the final nation, so the big question now is what HoYoverse will use to keep players once the seven-nation journey wraps up. We’ll probably find out around the seventh anniversary.
Data: Sensor Tower estimates for the App Store and Google Play, excluding PC and console, as compiled by GameK and the community; update dates from HoYoverse announcements.