It became so popular that by 2021, it was named 'iPhone Game of the Year' by Apple and 'Best Game' by Google Play, and, according to Sensor Tower, earned around $2 billion on mobile in its first year, ahead of Pokémon GO's $1.1 billion. For me, it was my first open-world game, because my parents couldn't afford a console, and it's where I met many of my current friends.
So, is it still paving the way? To an extent, yes. Updates arrive every 40 days with new story quests, events and characters, and with the climax of the game in the Winter-Wonderland-Esque world of Snezhnaya now available, there's no shortage of content. The community is still active too.
But the cracks are showing. The gacha system remains especially malicious: most patches barely give you enough Primogems for one 5-star character, and even then, there's a 50% chance of getting a standard one instead of the character you wanted.
After a 2025 US Federal Trade Commission settlement, the game must now state the cost, which can reach $475.20 for a single featured 5-star, an insane amount for students relying on SFE such as myself. Power creep adds to it, as the strength needed for end-game content shifts every patch and older characters can become obsolete without heavy investment. And while the main story runs to roughly 98 hours, the dialogue can't be skipped.
Other players and I have experienced burnout, and rivals such as Honkai: Star Rail and Wuthering Waves are giving players other options. Genshin's own revenue seems to be experiencing a similar burnout, with its revenue dropping to about $710 million in 2024, its first full year under $1 billion.
To its credit, Genshin is still trying. The sixth-anniversary update hands out two free 5-star characters, though in my experience they don't fit the current mechanics well.
So, trailblazing or lagging? I think Genshin is now more of a veteran: it showed what a free game could look like, and its rivals have learned from it. And while it would be particularly time-consuming for new players to get into, I would recommend it if you can set a hard time and financial limit.