Gacha games are video games that implement the '' gashapon'' mechanic. ''Gashapon'' are a type of Japanese vending machine in which people insert a coin to acquire a random toy capsule. In gacha games, players pay virtual currency (bought with real money or acquired in-game) to acquire random game characters or pieces of equipment of varying rarity and usefulness. This is a variant of the loot box mechanic where players spend currency to acquire an entire set of random game items. Gacha games are typically

mobile game A mobile game, or smartphone game, is a video game that is typically played on a mobile phone. The term also refers to all games that are played on any portable device, including from mobile phone (feature phone or smartphone), tablet, PDA to ...

s made in China, Japan, South Korea, or other Asian countries, where they are very popular. They are typically free-to-play games which can be played using only the currency or characters received for free through gameplay and grinding. They are financed through the sale of virtual currency to the players who want to spend real money to progress faster or be better at competing with others. So-called " whale" players may spend significant amounts on gacha games, leading to concerns about

gambling addiction Problem gambling or ludomania is repetitive gambling behavior despite harm and negative consequences. Problem gambling may be diagnosed as a mental disorder according to ''DSM-5'' if certain diagnostic criteria are met. Pathological gambling is ...

List

This list is limited to notable gacha games which have been released in an English-language version. {, class="wikitable sortable" ! Name ! Genre ! English language availability ! Notes or short description ! , - , ''

Action Taimanin is a free-to-play action role-playing video game developed and published by Gremory Games on mobile, and later ported to Windows PCs by Lilith and Infini-Brain. The game is a spin-off of Lilith's Taimanin visual novel series. Story ''Action Ta ...

'' , Action role-playing , 2020 ,

Hack and slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...

game based on the ''Taimanin Asagi'' visual novel series. , , - , '' Alchemy Stars'' , Tactical role-playing , 2021 , , , - , '' Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp'' ,

Social simulation Social simulation is a research field that applies computational methods to study issues in the social sciences. The issues explored include problems in computational law, psychology, organizational behavior, sociology, political science, e ...

, 2017 , Part of Nintendo's '' Animal Crossing'' series. , , - , ''

Another Eden is a free-to-play role-playing video game developed and published by Wright Flyer Studios. The game features the collaboration of writer Masato Kato and music composer Yasunori Mitsuda who both worked on ''Xenogears'' and the ''Chrono'' series o ...

'' , Tactical role-playing , 2019 , , , - , '' Arknights'' , Tower defense , 2020 , Noted for its soundtrack featuring high-profile musicians. , , - , ''

Azur Lane ''Azur Lane'' () is a side-scrolling shoot 'em up video game created by Chinese developers Shanghai Manjuu and Xiamen Yongshi, released in 2017 for the iOS and Android operating systems. Set in an alternate timeline of World War II, pl ...

'' , Shoot 'em up , 2019 , Anthropomorphizes historic warships as young girls. , , - , ''

BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! also known as ''Garupa'' or ''Bandori'', is a mobile rhythm game developed by Craft Egg and published by Bushiroad for the Android and iOS platforms. Part of Bushiroad's ''BanG Dream!'' music franchise, it was released in Japan in March 2017, a ...

'' , Rhythm game , 2018 , Part of the '' BanG Dream!'' music franchise. , , - , '' Bleach: Brave Souls'' , Beat 'em up , 2016 , Part of the ''

Bleach Bleach is the generic name for any chemical product that is used industrially or domestically to remove color (whitening) from a fabric or fiber or to clean or to remove stains in a process called bleaching. It often refers specifically, to ...

'' media franchise based on Tite Kubo's manga. , , - , '' Blue Archive'' , Eastern role-playing , 2021 , , , - , ''

Brave Frontier was a Japanese mobile role-playing game developed and published by A-Lim, originally for Apple's iOS and later for Android and Kindle Fire. It was first released in Japan by A-Lim on July 3, 2013, and later released worldwide by Gumi Asia on Dec ...

'' , Eastern role-playing , 2013-2022 , , , - , '' Cookie Run Kingdom'' , City-Building /

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

, 2021 , Part of the Devsisters Cookie Run franchise. , , - , ''

D4DJ Groovy Mix ''D4DJ'' (''Dig Delight Direct Drive DJ'') is a Japanese music media franchise created by Bushiroad, with original story by Kō Nakamura. Takaaki Kidani is credited as executive producer. It consists primarily of live disc jockey performa ...

'' , Rhythm game , 2021 , Part of the D4DJ music media franchise. , , - , '' DanMachi: Memoria Freese'' , Eastern role-playing , 2017 , Part of the '' Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?'' Light novel franchise. , , - , '' Dragalia Lost'' , Action role-playing , 2018-2022 , First

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

IP released only on mobile platforms. , , - , '' Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle'' ,

Board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ty ...

/ puzzle game , 2015 , Part of the ''

Dragon Ball is a Japanese media franchise created by Akira Toriyama in 1984. The Dragon Ball (manga), initial manga, written and illustrated by Toriyama, was serialized in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1984 to 1995, with the 519 individual chapters colle ...

'' media franchise. , , - , '' Dragon Collection'' ,

Card battle A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards, introduced with ''Magic: The Gathering'' in 1993. Generall ...

, 2012 , The first popular Japanese gacha game, released 2010 on GREE. , , - , ''

Epic Seven Smilegate is a South Korean video game developer and publisher, which develops, publishes and services mobile and PC online games. It has five core business sectors: game development, publishing, platform, investment and social contribution. Esta ...

'' , Eastern role-playing , 2018 , , , - , '' Fate/Grand Order'' , Tactical role-playing , 2017 , Part of the ''

Fate/stay night ''Fate/stay night'' is a Japanese visual novel developed by Type-Moon and originally released as an adult game for Windows on January 30, 2004. A version of ''Fate/stay night'' rated for ages 15 and up titled ''Fate/stay night Réalta ...

'' visual novel franchise. , , - , ''

Final Fantasy All the Bravest ''Final Fantasy All the Bravest'' was a video game in the ''Final Fantasy'' series developed by BitGroove and published by Square Enix. The game was released for iOS and Android mobile devices. The title featured gameplay, characters, locatio ...

'' , Eastern role-playing , 2013 , Part of the '' Final Fantasy'' franchise. Widely criticized for its lack of gameplay, after which a producer said that it was in fact not a game. , , - , ''

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius ''Final Fantasy Brave Exvius'' is a free-to-play role-playing game developed by Alim and published by Square Enix for iOS, Android and Amazon Fire devices. A spin-off of the ''Final Fantasy'' series, the game marks as the first collaborative ef ...

'' , Tactical role-playing , 2016 , Part of the '' Final Fantasy'' franchise. Not to be confused with its spin-off '' War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius.'' , , - , '' Fire Emblem Heroes'' , Tactical role-playing , 2017 , Spin-off of the '' Fire Emblem'' series. , , - , '' Genshin Impact'' , Open-world action role-playing , 2020 , First " AAA" gacha game. , - , ''

Girls' Frontline ''Girls Frontline'' () is a mobile strategy role-playing game for Android and iOS developed by China-based studio MICA Team, where players control echelons of android characters, known in-universe as T-Dolls, each carrying a distinctive r ...

'' , Turn-based strategy , 2018 , Anthropomorphizes firearms as young girls. , , - , '' Girls' Frontline: Neural Cloud'' , Real-time strategy , 2022 , Spin-off and prequel game to ''

'' (2018). , , - , '' Goddess of Victory: Nikke'' , Third-person shooter /

, 2022 , , , - , '' Granblue Fantasy'' , Eastern role-playing , 2016 , Browser game with music by Nobuo Uematsu (''Final Fantasy''). Generated various spin-offs. , , - , '' Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage!'' , Rhythm game , 2020 , Part of the Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA franchise. , , - , '' Honkai Impact 3rd'' ,

, 2018 , , , - , ''

Identity V ''Identity V'' is a free-to-play asymmetrical multiplayer survival horror game developed and published by Chinese company NetEase. It was released in July 2018 for mobile devices. It is available on the iOS App Store, Android Google Play Stor ...

'' , Multiplayer survival horror , 2018 , , , - , '' Kingdom Hearts χ'' , Tactical role-playing , 2016 , Part of the ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...

'' series. Released on mobile devices as ''Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ.'' The "χ" character is a lower-case Greek chi. , , - , '' King's Raid'' , Eastern role-playing , 2016 , The first "character collection Tactical RPG" game without the gacha system. , , - , '' KonoSuba: Fantastic Days'' , Eastern role-playing , 2021 , Part of the '' KonoSuba'' Light novel franchise. , , - , ''

Langrisser Mobile is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game series created by Masaya Games. The main development team is Career Soft, first as Team Career within Masaya Games for the first three games and then as an independent studio for ''Langrisser IV'' a ...

'' , Tactical role-playing , 2019 , Part of the '' Langrisser'' franchise. , , - , ''

Limbus Company ''Limbus Company'' is an indie horror role-playing video game for Microsoft Windows and mobile devices using iOS or Android, developed and published by South Korean studio Project Moon. It was released worldwide on February 26, 2023. The game is ...

'' , Dungeon role-playing , 2023 , Sequel to '' Lobotomy Corporation'' (2018). , , - , '' Love Live! School Idol Festival'' , Rhythm game , 2014 , Part of the '' Love Live!'' franchise. Has a 2020 spin-off: ''Love Live! School Idol Festival All Stars.'' , , - , '' Magia Record'' , Tactical role-playing , 2019 , Spin-off of the anime series '' Puella Magi Madoka Magica.'' , , - , '' Mario Kart Tour'' , Kart racing , 2019 , 14th game in the ''

Mario Kart is a series of racing games developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses from the ''Mario'' series as well as other gaming franchises such as ''T ...

'' series. Unusually for a gacha game, a subscription is needed for many features. Gacha elements were removed in a 2022 update. , , - , '' Mobius Final Fantasy'' ,

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a Player charac ...

, 2016–2020 , Part of the '' Final Fantasy'' franchise. , , - , '' Monster Strike'' , Physics game , 2014 , Became the basis of its own media franchise in Japan, including an anime series and several films. , , - , '' Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Blazing'' , Action role-playing , 2016–2021 , Spin-off of the '' Naruto: Ultimate Ninja'' fighting game series. , , - , ''

Nier Reincarnation ''Nier Reincarnation'' is a 2021 role-playing video game developed by Applibot and published by Square Enix for Android (operating system), Android and iOS. Set in a realm called the Cage where different characters experience stories while explori ...

'' , Eastern role-playing , 2021 , Part of the '' Nier'' franchise. , , - , '' Ni no Kuni: Cross Worlds'' , Eastern role-playing , 2021 , Part of the '' Ni no Kuni'' franchise. , , - , '' Onmyōji'' , Eastern role-playing , 2016 , Part of the '' Onmyōji'' novel franchise. , , - , '' Octopath Traveler: Champions of the Continent'' ,

Role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

, 2021 , Part of the '' Octopath Traveler'' franchise. , , - , '' One Piece Bounty Rush'' , Beat 'em up , 2018 , Based on the '' One Piece'' franchise. Re-released in 2019. , , - , ''

One Piece Treasure Cruise is a free-to-play role-playing video game set in the ''One Piece'' universe, developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It was released for Android and iOS platforms. As of September 2019 the game has exceeded 100 million downloads w ...

'' , Tactical role-playing , 2015 , Based on the '' One Piece'' franchise. , , - , '' Pokémon Masters EX'' , ''

Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...

'' , 2019 , Originally named ''Pokémon Masters''. Based on the ''

'' franchise. , , - , '' Princess Connect! Re:Dive'' , Eastern role-playing , 2021 , Sequel game to ''Princess Connect!'' (2015–2016). Received an anime adaptation. , , - , '' Punishing: Gray Raven'' ,

, 2021 , , , - , '' Puzzle & Dragons'' , Tile-matching , 2012 , Received spin-offs including ''

Puzzle & Dragons X is a spinoff of the mobile game ''Puzzle & Dragons'' for the Nintendo 3DS by GungHo Online Entertainment. It was released in two versions simultaneously on July 28, 2016, named the Gods Chapter (神の章) and the Dragons Chapter (龍の章). ...

'' and '' Puzzle & Dragons Z + Super Mario Bros. Edition.'' , , - , '' Raid: Shadow Legends'' , Auto-battler , 2019 , Infamous for its pervasive advertising on social media and aggressive monetization. , , - , '' Schoolgirl Strikers 2/Twinkle Melodies'' , Visual novel-

, 2014-2017-2018 , Part of the '' Schoolgirl Strikers'' media franchise. , - , ''

Seven Knights ''Seven Knights'' (, ja, セブンナイツ, Sebun Naitsu) is a series of online free-to-play role-playing game created by Netmarble. The first game was released for Android and iOS devices in March 2014 in South Korea and in February 2016 ...

'' , Eastern role-playing , 2014 , , , - , '' Seven Knights 2'' ,

, 2020 , Sequel game to ''

'' (2014). , , - , '' Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2'' , Eastern role-playing , 2018 , Part of the '' Megami Tensei'' franchise. , , - , '' Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight -Re LIVE-'' , Rhythm game , 2018 , Part of the ''

Revue Starlight is a Japanese media franchise created in 2017 by Bushiroad, Nelke Planning and Kinema Citrus. It primarily consists of a series of musicals, debuting between September 22 and 24, 2017 at the AiiA 2.5 Theater Tokyo; a 12-episode anime t ...

'' media franchise. , , - , '' SINoALICE'' , Eastern role-playing , 2020 , Directed by Yoko Taro ('' Drakengard''). , , - , '' Sword Art Online: Integral Factor'' ,

, 2017 , Based on the anime and

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series '' Sword Art Online.'' , , - , '' The King of Fighters All Star'' , Beat 'em up , 2019 , , , - , '' The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross'' , Eastern role-playing , 2019 , Part of the '' The Seven Deadly Sins'' franchise. , , - , ''

Tokyo Afterschool Summoners , known also by the blend word ''Housamo'' (放サモ, derived from ''Tōkyō Hōkago Samonāzu''), is an F2P role-playing video game for Android and iOS. It is developed by , a mobile gaming company operated by the dōjin circle . It is noted as ...

'' ,

, 2018 , One of the first commercial Japanese LGBT video games, with art by prominent bara artists. Partially translated into English. , , - , '' Touhou LostWord'' , Turn-based strategy , 2021 , Based on the ''

Touhou Project The , also known simply as , is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese ''doujin'' soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed ...

'' series. , , - , ''

Tower of Fantasy ''Tower of Fantasy'' () is a free-to-play open world action role-playing game developed by Hotta Studio, a subsidiary of Perfect World. The game is set in the far future on the extraterrestrial planet "Aida", contaminated with a mysterious b ...

'' , , Open-world Action role-playing , 2021 , , , - , '' War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius'' , Tactical role-playing , 2020 , Spin-off of ''

.'' , , - , '' White Cat Project'' , Action role-playing , 2015–2016 , Released internationally under the name ''Colopl Rune Story.'' , {{Cite web, last=Rich, first=Rob, title=Colopl Rune Story Review: Why Would You Do That?, url=https://www.gamezebo.com/2015/10/26/colopl-rune-story-review/, url-status=live, access-date=2021-06-27

References

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