It's mid-2026, and I still find myself scrolling through old revenue charts like it's a twisted form of entertainment. If you've been in the gacha scene as long as I have, you know HoYoverse doesn't just print money—it practically mints it with every new release. But even two years later, Zenless Zone Zero's July 2024 debut remains one of the most fascinating case studies in mobile gaming. Back then, pulling in an estimated $96 million on mobile in a single month was somehow considered a slow start. Crazy, right?
Just look at the numbers. According to sensor tower estimates from that time, ZZZ raked in nearly a hundred million bucks during its first month—beating out heavy hitters like Love and Deepspace, Naruto Mobile, and even its own siblings Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail in the July revenue race. I remember thinking, "If this is the black sheep of the family, what does a white sheep look like?" The answer, as it turned out, was comfortably sitting at the top of the charts.
So what drove this "weak" launch to such heights? Honestly, the banners carried it. Ellen, that shark-tailed ice queen, became an instant fan favorite even before the game officially dropped. And then came Zhu Yuan—powerful, stylish, and exactly the kind of unit that makes you empty your Polychrome stash in under five minutes. Combine these limited characters with a strong standard roster that landed at the top of every ZZZ tier list, and you've got a recipe for financial chaos. Pre-registrations had already crossed 40 million, so the hunger was real. Seriously, did you manage to stay free-to-play through that first patch? Because I certainly didn't.
What's especially interesting is how ZZZ's arrival coincided with an estimated $31 million drop in Genshin Impact's monthly revenue and a $60 million decrease for Honkai Star Rail globally. It wasn't a coincidence—it was budget reallocation. Players like you and I were funneling their monthly gacha allowance into New Eridu instead of Teyvat or the Astral Express. And honestly, who could blame them? A brand-new HoYoverse title with a sleek urban aesthetic, fast-paced combat, and that signature polish? It was practically a vacuum for our wallets.
Now, remember that those $96 million only account for mobile spending. ZZZ launched on PC and PS5 right out of the gate—a first for HoYoverse at the time. No waiting months for a console port. So the actual total revenue, once you factor in PlayStation Store and PC top-ups, was certainly north of $150 million, if not more. For context, that's enough to fund a small country's space program. Even in 2026, when we see games hit $200 million months more frequently, those day-one multiplatform numbers are still impressive.
But let's put things in perspective. Despite all this, Zenless Zone Zero's launch was indeed the weakest of HoYoverse's big three. Genshin Impact, which basically dragged gacha gaming into the mainstream with its Breath of the Wild-inspired open world, grossed over $245 million in its first month. Honkai Star Rail topped $130 million on mobile alone. So ZZZ's $96 million was, relatively speaking, a modest debut. Does this mean HoYoverse's growth is plateauing? Or did the sci-fi urban setting simply appeal to a slightly narrower audience? Maybe it's both—2024 was already a saturated market, and players had long-term commitments to their existing HoYoverse accounts.
Fast forward to 2026, and it's clear that ZZZ's "slow start" was never a sign of failure. The game has matured beautifully, with version 3.0 now on the horizon (yes, already). New factions, hollow expeditions, and a relentless drip of S-rank characters keep the community buzzing. I've lost count of how many times I've whispered to myself, "Just one more pull," at 2 a.m. The devs have also gotten better at celebrating milestones with free codes—if you're reading this around a major update, you can bet there's a fresh batch of ZZZ events and Polychrome waiting. Just make sure you hunt them down before they expire.
The lesson from Zenless Zone Zero's launch is simple: in the world of HoYoverse, even an "underwhelming" debut is a blockbuster. As we look back from 2026, it's funny to think we ever called a $96 million month weak. Then again, that's the standard when your own catalog sets the bar impossibly high. If you ask me, the only real weakness was my self-control—and maybe that's exactly how HoYoverse planned it.
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