{
  "slug": "gacha-game",
  "url": "https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gacha-game",
  "type": "term",
  "title": "Gacha game",
  "description": "A game whose progression and monetization are built around gacha draws, typically free-to-play with banner-scheduled character releases. The genre spans from Puzzle & Dragons in 2012 to Genshin Impact and its successors.",
  "aliases": [
    "gacha games"
  ],
  "tags": [
    "terminology"
  ],
  "verification": "verified",
  "lastUpdated": "2026-07-09",
  "lastVerified": "2026-07-09",
  "sources": [
    {
      "title": "Puzzle & Dragons is the first mobile game to $1 billion in revenue",
      "url": "https://www.pocketgamer.biz/its-official-puzzle-and-dragons-is-the-first-mobile-game-to-1-billion-in-revenue/",
      "publisher": "PocketGamer.biz",
      "accessed": "2026-07-09",
      "note": null
    },
    {
      "title": "Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year",
      "url": "https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue",
      "publisher": "Sensor Tower",
      "accessed": "2026-07-09",
      "note": "Third-party estimate."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "gacha",
    "banner",
    "free-to-play",
    "history-of-gacha-games",
    "genshin-impact"
  ],
  "markdown": "A gacha game is a video game, almost always [free-to-play](/wiki/free-to-play), in which acquiring characters or equipment happens mainly through randomized [gacha](/wiki/gacha) draws, and in which the release calendar is structured around limited-time [banners](/wiki/banner). The gacha is not a side feature: the roster is the content, and the draw is the business model.\n\nThe template solidified in Japan between 2010 and 2012 on feature-phone social platforms, then went worldwide through smartphone hits. Puzzle & Dragons (GungHo, 2012) was reported as the first mobile game to reach US$1 billion in revenue, demonstrating the model's scale. [[1]](#ref-1) Fate/Grand Order (2015) proved character IP could carry it globally, and [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) (2020) moved it onto consoles and PC with an estimated US$2 billion in first-year mobile spending alone. [[2]](#ref-2)\n\nCommon structural features: a pull currency with dual sourcing (earned and bought), rarity tiers with published rates in most markets, safety mechanisms ([pity](/wiki/pity-system), [spark](/wiki/spark)), duplicate-based upgrades ([dupe systems](/wiki/dupe-system)), a permanent standard pool plus rotating limited pools, and scheduled [reruns](/wiki/rerun).\n\nThe label is descriptive, not pejorative, and covers games across genres: turn-based RPGs, action RPGs, tower defense, shooters, and sports simulators all operate gacha economies. See [history of gacha games](/wiki/history-of-gacha-games) for the genre's development.",
  "license": {
    "name": "CC BY-SA 4.0",
    "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/"
  }
}