In 2019, Sony partnered miHoYo, a little-known studio which was developing "Genshin Impact". The game - a global hit when it was released a year later - is available for personal computers and handheld devices, but the console version is exclusively on PlayStation.
Microsoft regretted missing out on "Genshin Impact", two people familiar with the matter said. It spoke to miHoYo early in the game's development but did not reach a deal, one of them said. The other person said the experience is the driving force behind Microsoft's more active pursuit of Chinese developers.
"Picking up 'Genshin Impact' made Sony a lot of money," the second person said, declining to be identified because the information was not public.