Gacha game

A gacha game (Japanese: ガチャ ゲーム, Hepburn: gacha gēmu) is a game, typically a video game, that implements the gachapon machine style mechanics. Similar to loot boxes, Live Service gacha games entice players to spend in-game currency to receive a random in-game item. Some in-game currency generally can be gained through game play and staying up-to-date, and some by purchasing it from the game publisher using real-world funds.

Most common gacha games are free-to-play (F2P) mobile role-playing games with an emphasis on team building and player improvisation.^[1][2]

The gacha game model has been around since the early 90s with Strategy Trading Card Games such as Magic the Gathering, but began to be widely used in the early 2010s in mobile gaming by Japan.^[1][2] Gacha mechanics have become an integral part of Japanese mobile game culture as well as pop culture in general.^[3] The game mechanism is also increasingly used in Chinese and Korean games, as well as European and American games.^[3][4][5][6]

Digital Gacha games have been criticized for being addictive, and are often compared to gambling due to the incentive to spend real-world money on chance-based rewards.