# GachaWiki: full content export > GachaWiki is a network of gacha game wikis plus a cross-game encyclopedia: pull systems, odds, pity mechanics, history, and regulation. Every fact is cited to a primary source, and every page is machine-readable. License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Attribution required. Pages: 60. Generated from the same sources as the website. ---------------------------------------- # Gacha probability explained URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gacha-probability Type: article | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The actual math behind gacha rates. What a 0.6% rate really means, why pity changes expected costs, how consolidated rates are computed, and why set-completion mechanics explode. With an interactive calculator. Gacha odds are one of the few parts of these games that can be reasoned about exactly. Publishers disclose base rates in most markets, the pull-by-pull rules are published or community-measured, and everything else is arithmetic. This page walks through that arithmetic. All worked examples use the published rates of real games, cited in the references. ## What a base rate means A 0.6% rate, the [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) character banner base rate, means each pull is an independent trial with a 0.6% chance of a 5-star. [[1]](#ref-1) Independence cuts both ways: previous failures do not make the next pull more likely (before soft pity intervenes), and a lucky early pull does not use up anything. The chance of at least one success in n pulls is: ```text P(at least one) = 1 - (1 - p)^n ``` At p = 0.6% with no pity, the numbers are sobering: | Pulls | Chance of at least one 5-star | | --- | --- | | 10 | 5.8% | | 50 | 26.0% | | 90 | 41.9% | | 116 | 50.2% | | 383 | 90.0% | | 766 | 99.0% | Half of all players would need 116 or more pulls for their first 5-star, and 1 in 100 would still have nothing after 766. This long tail is the problem [pity systems](/wiki/pity-system) exist to solve. ## What pity does to the numbers Hard pity truncates the distribution: in Genshin Impact a 5-star is guaranteed by pull 90, so the table above stops being true at 90, where the real probability becomes 100%. Soft pity (community-documented from roughly pull 74 in HoYoverse games) pulls most of the remaining tail forward, so in practice almost all 5-stars land between pull 70 and 85 for players who reach deep counts. The published "consolidated rate" compresses all of this into one number. Genshin Impact discloses 1.6% consolidated for a 0.6% base, [[1]](#ref-1) and the reciprocal of the consolidated rate is the average cost: ```text average pulls per 5-star = 1 / 0.016 = 62.5 ``` That average, 62.5 pulls, is the single most useful planning number for the HoYoverse-style games, and it comes straight from the official disclosure. Community statistics agree with it closely, which is a good sign the disclosed figure is honest. Escalation systems do the same job with different shapes. [Arknights](/wiki/arknights) publishes its rule outright: 2% base, rising 2 percentage points per pull after 50 dry pulls, reaching 100% at pull 99. [[2]](#ref-2) The resulting average is about 34.6 pulls per 6-star, computable directly from the published rule. ## Guarantees compose into worst cases Bounded systems allow exact worst-case budgeting. In a 90-pity, [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) game, the featured character costs at most 180 pulls: 90 to force a 5-star, lose the flip, 90 more for the guaranteed one. A [spark](/wiki/spark) is even simpler: 200 or 300 pulls buys the target outright, whatever the dice did. The [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) lists worst cases per game with sources. A useful habit: evaluate any banner by three numbers, the average cost (from the consolidated rate), the worst case (from pity and guarantees), and your pull budget. The calculator below computes the first two views for any rate. ## Why set completion was banned [Kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha) demanded a complete set of random items. Completing a set is governed by collector mathematics, and the expected cost grows faster than intuition suggests: with N equally likely items, the expected number of relevant draws to complete the set is N times the harmonic number H(N). For a 10-item set that is about 29.3 relevant draws, and if each set item only appears once per 100 draws overall, the expectation is roughly 2,900 draws to complete by luck alone. The last missing item dominates the cost. Regulators did not need the formula, but the formula is why the player-harm stories kept happening, and Japan banned the mechanic in 2012. ## Honest uncertainty Two caveats apply to everything above. Soft pity thresholds in HoYoverse-style games are community-measured, not disclosed, so numbers like "ramp from pull 74" carry measurement uncertainty. And published rates are trusted inputs: outside China and South Korea, where audits back disclosure law, verification from outside is statistical. When this wiki cannot trace a number to a disclosure or a large-sample community measurement, it does not print the number. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. Arknights in-game Headhunting rules text (Yostar / Hypergryph): https://www.arknights.global ---------------------------------------- # Gacha regulation by country URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gacha-regulation Type: article | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 How Japan, China, South Korea, Belgium, the Netherlands, the US, the UK, Australia, and the EU regulate gacha and loot boxes as of July 2026, from the 2012 kompu gacha ban to the FTC's 2025 Genshin settlement. No two jurisdictions regulate gacha the same way. Some treat paid random draws as a gambling question, some as a consumer-protection question, and several rely on industry self-regulation. This page summarizes the state of play as of July 2026, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, with primary sources. It is a reference, not legal advice. | Jurisdiction | Approach | Key instrument | Status July 2026 | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Japan | Consumer law + self-regulation | Kompu gacha ban (2012); JOGA/CESA guidelines | Stable since 2016 | | China | Statutory disclosure + minors rules | 2016 MOC Notice; NPPA minors notices | Disclosure standard; strict minors limits | | South Korea | Statutory disclosure with penalties | Game Industry Promotion Act amendments | In force since March 2024, tightening | | Belgium | Gambling law | Gaming Commission report (2018) | Paid loot boxes treated as gambling | | Netherlands | Gambling law, then reversed | Council of State ruling (2022) | Loot boxes not standalone gambling | | United States | Case-by-case FTC enforcement | Cognosphere settlement (2025) | No federal loot box statute | | United Kingdom | Industry-led measures | DCMS response (2022); Ukie principles (2023) | No legislation | | Australia | Classification | Mandatory M / R18+ ratings (2024) | In force for new releases | | European Union | Consumer protection, in progress | CPC principles (2025); Digital Fairness Act | Proposal expected late 2026 | ## Japan Japan never legislated against gacha as gambling. Instead, the Consumer Affairs Agency ruled on May 18, 2012 that [kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha), the set-completion variant, was a prohibited "card matching" premium scheme under the 1962 Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, effective July 1, 2012. [[1]](#ref-1) Ordinary gacha remained legal, governed since by industry self-regulation: JOGA's 2012 guidelines (rate display, and spending-estimate caps of 100 draws or 50,000 yen for any rare item) and CESA's 2016 disclosure guidelines adopted after the Granblue Fantasy incident. [[2]](#ref-2) ## China China was the first country to mandate odds disclosure by law: the Ministry of Culture's December 2016 Notice, effective May 1, 2017, requires publishing item contents and draw probabilities and keeping draw records for at least 90 days. [[3]](#ref-3) Regulator reorganization in 2019 moved games oversight to the NPPA, which layered on the world's strictest minors regime: spending caps by age bracket (2019) and the September 2021 rule limiting minors to three hours of online gaming per week. [[4]](#ref-4) A December 2023 draft rule that would have added spending limits and banned offering random draws to minors was pulled in January 2024 after erasing tens of billions of dollars in publisher market value, and has not been reissued. [[4]](#ref-4) ## South Korea Amendments to the Game Industry Promotion Act made loot box probability disclosure mandatory from March 22, 2024, in-game, on websites, and in advertising, backed by corrective orders and criminal penalties; the regulator found 266 non-compliant games within months. [[5]](#ref-5) In January 2024 the Korea Fair Trade Commission fined Nexon 11.6 billion won over concealed probability changes in MapleStory, and a further amendment passed in 2025 added treble punitive damages with a reversed burden of proof. [[5]](#ref-5) ## Belgium The Belgian Gaming Commission concluded in April 2018 that paid loot boxes are games of chance under the Gaming and Betting Act, examining Overwatch, FIFA 18, and CS:GO. [[6]](#ref-6) Publishers responded by removing paid random content for Belgian players, and Nintendo withdrew its two gacha mobile games from Belgium entirely in August 2019 rather than comply. [[13]](#ref-13) Belgium remains the strictest major market, enforced in practice through publisher self-exclusion. ## Netherlands The Dutch gambling authority took the same position as Belgium in 2018 and imposed penalty orders on Electronic Arts over FIFA Ultimate Team packs in 2019. The Council of State reversed course on March 9, 2022, ruling that FIFA packs are an element of chance within a game of skill rather than a standalone game of chance, and annulled the penalties. [[7]](#ref-7) The reversal is the leading counter-example to gambling-law approaches in Europe. ## United States There is no federal loot box statute. The active instrument is FTC consumer-protection enforcement: on January 17, 2025 the agency settled with Cognosphere, publisher of [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact), for US$20 million, banning loot box sales to children under 16 without parental consent and requiring odds disclosure, direct real-currency purchase options, and clearer virtual-currency pricing. [[8]](#ref-8) The settlement's terms function as de facto compliance guidance for gacha publishers operating in the US. ## United Kingdom After a two-year call for evidence, the government announced in July 2022 that it would not legislate or amend the Gambling Act, opting for industry-led protections: parental consent for child purchases and spending transparency, formalized in Ukie's eleven loot box principles of July 2023. [[9]](#ref-9) ## Australia From September 22, 2024, new games containing paid loot boxes receive a mandatory minimum M classification, and games with simulated gambling receive a mandatory R18+, applied prospectively. [[10]](#ref-10) ## European Union EU-level action has so far come through consumer-protection coordination rather than gambling law. In March 2025 the Commission and national authorities published Key Principles on in-game virtual currencies (real-money price transparency, no cost obscuring, no pressure tactics toward children) alongside enforcement against a first target. [[11]](#ref-11) In November 2025 the European Parliament adopted a non-binding resolution urging a prohibition on loot boxes in games likely to be accessed by minors. [[12]](#ref-12) The Commission's Digital Fairness Act, expected as a proposal in late 2026, is the vehicle to watch; as of July 2026 no EU-wide loot box law is in force. ## Platform rules Independent of governments, Apple's App Store has required published odds for paid random items since 2017, and Google Play has an equivalent policy. These rules are why base-rate disclosure is effectively universal in mobile gacha worldwide, even where no law requires it; see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure). References: 1. Operational standards on premium offers (May 18, 2012 revision) (Consumer Affairs Agency (Japan)): https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/representation/fair_labeling/guideline/pdf/120518premiums_1.pdf 2. CESA guidelines for random-item provision in network games (April 2016) (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (Japan)): https://www.cesa.or.jp/action/for-stakeholders/provide-items/ 3. China's loot box odds disclosure requirement (2016 Notice, effective May 2017) (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/online-games-will-be-required-to-disclose-random-loot-box-odds-in-china 4. China's 2021 restrictions on minors' online gaming (China Law Translate): https://www.chinalawtranslate.com/en/minors-video-games-2021/ 5. Mandatory loot box probability disclosure in Korea (effective March 22, 2024) (Kim & Chang): https://www.kimchang.com/en/insights/detail.kc?sch_section=4&idx=29487 6. Research report on loot boxes (April 2018) (Belgian Gaming Commission): https://www.gamingcommission.be/sites/default/files/2021-08/onderzoeksrapport-loot-boxen-Engels-publicatie.pdf 7. Council of State ruling on FIFA loot boxes (March 9, 2022) (Raad van State (Netherlands)): https://www.raadvanstate.nl/@130206/dwangsom-onterecht-opgelegd-loot-boxes/ 8. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer (January 17, 2025) (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental 9. Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes (July 2022) (UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/loot-boxes-in-video-games-call-for-evidence 10. New classifications for gambling-like content in video games (September 22, 2024) (Australian Classification Board): https://www.classification.gov.au/classification-ratings/new-classifications-for-gambling-content-video-games 11. Commission and CPC Network act on virtual currencies in games (March 21, 2025) (European Commission): https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/api/files/document/print/en/ip_25_831/IP_25_831_EN.pdf 12. European Parliament resolution on protection of minors online (November 26, 2025) (European Parliament): https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20251013IPR30892/new-eu-measures-needed-to-make-online-services-safer-for-minors 13. Nintendo removing Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem mobile from Belgium (GameSpot): https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-removing-animal-crossing-fire-emblem-mobi/1100-6467055/ ---------------------------------------- # History of gacha games URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/history-of-gacha-games Type: article | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 From Japan's first capsule-toy machine in 1965 through the 2012 kompu gacha ban, Granblue's 2016 spark, and Genshin Impact's global era, to the multi-platform gacha industry of 2026. Every date sourced. Gacha games grew out of a physical vending-machine business, were shaped twice by Japanese consumer regulation, and became one of the largest revenue models in gaming. This article traces the mechanics: where the draw came from, and how each safety net the genre now takes for granted was added, usually after something went wrong. ## Capsule origins, 1965 to 2010 Japan's first capsule-toy machine was set up on February 17, 1965 by Ryuzo Shigeta of Penny Shokai in Tokyo, an adaptation of American bulk vendors with the toys sealed in capsules, at 10 yen a turn. [[1]](#ref-1) Bandai entered in 1977 under the Gashapon brand, selling character-licensed capsules at 100 yen when competitors charged around 20, and built the model into a permanent industry. [[2]](#ref-2) The essential mechanics were fixed here: a set price per random draw, and themed sets that reward collecting. See [gashapon](/wiki/gashapon). ## Social games digitize the draw, 2010 to 2012 Konami's Dragon Collection, launched September 14, 2010 on the GREE platform, is the usual reference point for gacha becoming the engine of a hit mobile game; it passed 7.5 million registered users within a year and a half. [[3]](#ref-3) By 2011 the mechanic was standard across GREE and DeNA's Mobage, and the two platforms rode it to record revenues. [[4]](#ref-4) The era's signature excess was [kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha): complete a set of random items, win a rarer prize. Set completion has explosive mathematics (see [gacha probability](/wiki/gacha-probability)), and spending scandals reached national television. ## The kompu gacha ban, 2012 On May 18, 2012, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency announced that kompu gacha constituted prohibited "card matching" under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, with revised standards applying from July 1, 2012. [[5]](#ref-5) The six major platform operators had already pledged on May 9 to remove kompu gacha by May 31, and GREE and DeNA shares fell more than 20% while reports circulated. [[4]](#ref-4) That September, the industry body JOGA put its first gacha operating guidelines into force, including rate-display rules and the guidance that obtaining any gacha rare item should be expected to cost no more than 100 draws or 50,000 yen. [[7]](#ref-7) The same year produced the pivot in game design. GungHo's Puzzle & Dragons, released February 20, 2012 on iOS in Japan, moved gacha from platform card games into a real-time puzzle RPG, and industry press later declared it the first mobile game to gross US$1 billion. [[6]](#ref-6) The native-app gacha RPG became Japan's default game format. ## Rate disclosure and the spark, 2015 to 2016 Fate/Grand Order (July 2015) showed a story-driven gacha RPG could top revenue charts with a 1% rate and no safety net; see [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order). The correction came from [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy). During the New Year 2016 festival, a player documented spending about 700,000 yen in roughly a day chasing the zodiac character Anchira, complaints reached the Consumer Affairs Agency, and Bloomberg reported the fallout cut over US$1 billion from Japanese mobile game shares. [[8]](#ref-8) On March 10, 2016 Cygames shipped per-item rate disclosure and the 300-draw exchange ceiling, the original [spark](/wiki/spark). CESA adopted industry-wide disclosure guidelines on April 27, 2016. [[9]](#ref-9) China made odds disclosure law the following year, effective May 1, 2017, the first country to do so; see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure). ## The global era, 2020 to 2024 Genshin Impact, launched worldwide September 28, 2020 on PC, consoles, and mobile, took an estimated US$2 billion in first-year mobile spending and normalized gacha for a global, multi-platform audience. [[10]](#ref-10) Its Wish system's 90-pull pity and [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) guarantee became the genre's reference design, carried into Honkai: Star Rail (2023), Zenless Zone Zero (2024), and competitor Wuthering Waves (2024). In Japan, Cygames' Umamusume: Pretty Derby (February 2021) became the domestic phenomenon of the period. The safety-net ratchet only tightened: Fate/Grand Order added its 330-roll guarantee in January 2022, Arknights added a 300-pull spark to limited banners in 2024, and Genshin Impact softened its own 50/50 with Capturing Radiance in August 2024. Designs that launched without a bounded worst case became rare. ## Consolidation and scrutiny, 2025 to 2026 Regulation went global: South Korea's mandatory disclosure law took effect in March 2024, the US FTC settled with Genshin Impact's publisher for US$20 million in January 2025 with age-gating and disclosure requirements, and EU institutions spent 2025 building toward the Digital Fairness Act. [[11]](#ref-11) The full picture is in [gacha regulation by country](/wiki/gacha-regulation). The business kept expanding onto every platform. Umamusume launched globally in June 2025, [[12]](#ref-12) Granblue Fantasy finally released worldwide via Steam on its twelfth anniversary in March 2026, Hypergryph's Arknights: Endfield launched simultaneously on PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile in January 2026, [[13]](#ref-13) and Perfect World's Neverness to Everness followed in April 2026. As of mid-2026 the gacha model runs natively on phones, PC storefronts, and both console families, with day-one multi-platform releases now the default for major titles. References: 1. The elderly man who invented Japan's capsule toys (Nippon.com): https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01212/ 2. About Gashapon (Bandai): https://us.gashapon.jp/about/ 3. Dragon Collection Android rollout press release (June 14, 2011) (GREE): https://hd.gree.net/jp/ja/news/press/2011/0614.html 4. Why "kompu gacha" was banned (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/why-quot-kompu-gacha-quot-was-banned 5. Operational standards on premium offers (May 18, 2012 revision) (Consumer Affairs Agency (Japan)): https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/representation/fair_labeling/guideline/pdf/120518premiums_1.pdf 6. Puzzle & Dragons is the first mobile game to $1 billion in revenue (PocketGamer.biz): https://www.pocketgamer.biz/its-official-puzzle-and-dragons-is-the-first-mobile-game-to-1-billion-in-revenue/ 7. JOGA guidelines for random-item provision methods (August 15, 2012) (4Gamer): https://www.4gamer.net/games/000/G000000/20120815039/ 8. $6,065 hunt for a blonde avatar exposes dark side of Japan gaming (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/-6-065-hunt-for-blonde-avatar-exposes-dark-side-of-japan-gaming 9. CESA guidelines for random-item provision in network games (April 2016) (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (Japan)): https://www.cesa.or.jp/action/for-stakeholders/provide-items/ 10. Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year (Sensor Tower): https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue 11. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer (January 17, 2025) (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental 12. Cygames announces global release of Umamusume Pretty Derby (June 26, 2025) (Cygames): https://www.cygames.co.jp/en/news/id-24452 13. Arknights: Endfield sets January 22, 2026 global launch (Games Press (publisher press release)): https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Arknights-Endfield-Sets-Jan-22-2026-Global-Launch-Date-Revealed-at-The ---------------------------------------- # Arknights URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Tower-defense RPG by Hypergryph, released in China in 2019 and globally in January 2020. Uses an escalating-rate pity (2% base, rising 2% per pull after 50 without a 6-star) and added a 300-pull spark to limited banners in 2024. Arknights is a free-to-play tower-defense RPG developed by Hypergryph in Shanghai. It launched in China on May 1, 2019, and worldwide on January 16, 2020, with Yostar publishing the global, Japanese, and Korean servers. [[1]](#ref-1) It is mobile-only and is known for a gacha design that predates the HoYoverse pattern and works differently from it. ## Pull system *Main article: [Headhunting](/arknights/wiki/headhunting)* Pulls are called headhunting, and operators are the playable units. The published rules: [[2]](#ref-2) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 6-star rate | 2% per pull | | Escalation | if 50 pulls pass without a 6-star, the rate rises by 2% per pull (4% at pull 51, 6% at 52, and so on, reaching 100% by pull 99) | | 5-star floor | a 5-star or better is guaranteed within the first 10 pulls on each banner | | Cost per pull | 600 Orundum (or 1 Headhunting Permit) | This escalating-rate design is the main alternative to the fixed hard pity used by HoYoverse games: instead of a cliff at pull 90, the odds climb quickly after a dry streak, which caps bad luck at 99 pulls in the worst case and produces an average close to 34.6 pulls per 6-star (a widely cited community computation from the official rules). The escalation counter carries over between successive standard banners but is tracked separately on limited and collaboration banners. [[2]](#ref-2) The featured guarantee is weaker than in most peers: on standard banners each 6-star has a 50% chance of being one of the two rate-up operators, with no loss protection. Limited banners guarantee a rate-up limited operator on the first 6-star after 150 pulls (once per banner), and collaboration banners guarantee the featured 6-star within 120 pulls. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Spark system *Main article: [Headhunting Data Contracts](/arknights/wiki/headhunting-data-contracts)* Starting with the "Cremation Last Wish" limited banner in 2024, limited banners grant one Headhunting Data Contract per pull. 300 contracts can be exchanged for the banner's rate-up limited 6-star (75 for a rate-up 5-star). Contracts expire when the banner ends and convert into a small amount of shop currency, so the [spark](/wiki/spark) does not carry between banners. [[3]](#ref-3) In 2025 the exchange cost for much older shop operators was reduced from 300 to 200 contracts. [[3]](#ref-3) ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/arknights/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service as of July 2026; its global sixth-anniversary event ran in January and February 2026 with a limited banner using the 300-contract spark. [[2]](#ref-2) Its console-and-PC successor project, [Arknights: Endfield](/wiki/arknights-endfield), launched in January 2026 as a separate game while the original continues. References: 1. Arknights (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arknights 2. Headhunting rates and escalation rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Arknights community wiki): https://arknights.wiki.gg/wiki/Headhunting 3. Headhunting Data Contract (spark) rules (Arknights community wiki): https://arknights.wiki.gg/wiki/Headhunting_Data_Contract ---------------------------------------- # Arknights: Endfield URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights-endfield Type: game | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 3D action RPG with base-building by Hypergryph, launched globally on January 22, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile. The follow-up project to Arknights, set on the planet Talos-II. Arknights: Endfield is a free-to-play 3D action RPG with base-building and factory-automation systems, developed by Hypergryph and published under its international brand Gryphline. It launched worldwide on January 22, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2) It is set on the planet Talos-II in the same universe as [Arknights](/wiki/arknights), with real-time squad combat in place of the original's tower defense. The two games run in parallel; Endfield is a separate title, not a replacement. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Pull system *Main article: [Gacha system](/arknights-endfield/wiki/gacha-system)* Endfield monetizes through character banners in the gacha pattern. This page does not yet document its rates, pity, or guarantee numbers: they need to be transcribed from the in-game rate disclosure and cited before this section can be marked verified. If you play Endfield, [you can help](/contribute) by submitting the numbers from the pull screen's rules text. ## Launch The launch followed public technical tests in 2024 and 2025. Hypergryph positioned the game as its first simultaneous multi-platform release, with cross-progression between PC, console, and mobile. [[1]](#ref-1) References: 1. Arknights: Endfield sets January 22, 2026 global launch date (Games Press (publisher press release)): https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Arknights-Endfield-Sets-Jan-22-2026-Global-Launch-Date-Revealed-at-The 2. Arknights: Endfield launches January 22, 2026 (Gematsu): https://www.gematsu.com/2025/12/arknights-endfield-launches-january-22-2026 ---------------------------------------- # Blue Archive URL: https://gachawiki.com/blue-archive Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 School-life RPG by Nexon Games, released in Japan in February 2021 and globally that November. Uses a 3% top-rarity rate and a straightforward 200-pull spark exchange, doubled to 6% on anniversary banners. Blue Archive is a free-to-play squad RPG developed by Nexon Games in South Korea. Yostar published the Japanese version on February 4, 2021, and Nexon launched the global version on November 8, 2021. [[1]](#ref-1) A Steam PC client for the global version arrived on July 4, 2025. [[3]](#ref-3) Its gacha is one of the simplest among major games, which makes it a common teaching example for [spark](/wiki/spark) mechanics. ## Pull system *Main article: [Recruitment](/blue-archive/wiki/recruitment)* Pulls are called recruitment and characters are students. Published numbers: [[2]](#ref-2) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 3-star rate | 3% per recruit | | Featured student rate | typically 0.7% within the 3% | | Fes banners | 3-star rate doubled to 6% during anniversary periods | | Cost per recruit | 120 Pyroxene (1,200 for a 10-pull) | The 3% base rate has applied since July 2022, when it was raised permanently from the launch value of 2.5%. [[2]](#ref-2) There is no rate escalation and no hard pity. Instead, every recruit grants one recruitment point, and 200 points can be exchanged for the banner's featured student, so 200 pulls (24,000 Pyroxene) is a strict ceiling. Points are per banner and expire when it ends, with no carry-over. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Duplicates Duplicate students convert into Eligma, used to raise a student's star grade. The exchange ceiling makes targeted duplicate hunting more predictable than in games with uncapped systems; see [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system). ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/blue-archive/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service as of July 2026. The Japanese version passed its fifth anniversary in February 2026, and the global version its 4.5-year mark, each with the usual 6% Fes banner. No structural gacha changes have been identified since the 2022 rate increase. References: 1. Blue Archive (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Archive 2. Recruitment rates and exchange rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Blue Archive community wiki): https://bluearchive.wiki/wiki/Recruitment_(Gacha) 3. Blue Archive Steam release (July 4, 2025) (RPG Site): https://www.rpgsite.net/news/17857-blue-archive-pc-steam-client-new-launch-date-confirmed-on-july-4 ---------------------------------------- # Fate/Grand Order URL: https://gachawiki.com/fate-grand-order Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Turn-based RPG by Lasengle, published by Aniplex, released in Japan in July 2015. Famous for a 1% SSR rate and for operating with no pity at all until January 2022, when a 330-roll guarantee was added. Fate/Grand Order is a free-to-play turn-based RPG based on Type-Moon's Fate franchise. It is developed by Lasengle, the studio spun out of Delightworks and acquired by Aniplex in early 2022, and it launched in Japan on July 29, 2015 (Android), with the English version following on June 25, 2017. [[1]](#ref-1) It is mobile-only and has grossed several billion US dollars over its lifetime, most of it in Japan. Among major gacha games it is the canonical example of a low-rate, no-safety-net design: for six and a half years it ran with a 1% top rarity rate and no [pity system](/wiki/pity-system) of any kind. ## Pull system *Main article: [Summoning](/fate-grand-order/wiki/summoning)* Servants are obtained from the Saint Quartz summon. Published rates: 1% for a 5-star (SSR) servant, 3% for a 4-star servant, with the rest of the pool split among 3-star servants and Craft Essences. [[2]](#ref-2) A single roll costs 3 Saint Quartz; a multi gives 11 rolls for 30 Saint Quartz. On rate-up banners the featured SSR takes roughly 0.7 to 0.8 percentage points of the 1% SSR rate, a split documented by the community from the in-game disclosure. [[2]](#ref-2) There is no soft pity and no rate escalation. The odds on roll 1 and roll 300 are identical unless the guarantee below intervenes. ## The 330-roll guarantee *Main article: [Guaranteed Summon](/fate-grand-order/wiki/guaranteed-summon)* A pity mechanic was announced in late December 2021 and went live in Japan with the New Year 2022 campaign: on limited banners with an end date, the featured SSR servant is guaranteed on the 330th roll if it has not appeared earlier. [[4]](#ref-4) Free and paid Saint Quartz and summon tickets all count toward the counter. The English server received the system in November 2022, years ahead of its usual two-year content delay. [[3]](#ref-3) The counter is per banner and does not carry over when a banner ends, which distinguishes it from the cross-banner pity in HoYoverse games. Off-banner SSR results ("spooks") do not reset the counter. [[3]](#ref-3) The guarantee was originally once per banner; Japan removed that limit at the game's ninth anniversary in 2024, letting the guarantee re-arm every 330 rolls, and the English server matched this at its own ninth anniversary in June 2026. At 3 Saint Quartz per roll, hitting the guarantee costs 990 Saint Quartz, several hundred US dollars if bought at typical bundle prices. Commentary about the game's economics usually starts from this number; see [whale](/wiki/whale) and [gacha probability](/wiki/gacha-probability). ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/fate-grand-order/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service in Japan and the English region as of July 2026, with the English version running its ninth anniversary campaign into July. It remains one of the few major gacha games never released on PC. References: 1. Fate/Grand Order (development and release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate/Grand_Order 2. Summoning rates and Saint Quartz costs (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Fate/Grand Order community wiki): https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Summoning 3. English version of Fate/Grand Order to get pity system early (Siliconera): https://www.siliconera.com/english-version-of-fgo-to-get-pity-system-early/ 4. Fate/Grand Order implements a pity system in gacha (January 2022, Japan) (Siliconera): https://www.siliconera.com/fate-grand-order-implements-a-pity-system-in-gacha/ ---------------------------------------- # Genshin Impact URL: https://gachawiki.com/genshin-impact Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Open-world action RPG by miHoYo/HoYoverse, released in September 2020. Its Wish system, with a 90-pull hard pity and the 50/50 featured-character guarantee, is the most widely copied gacha model of the 2020s. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world action RPG developed by miHoYo in Shanghai and published outside mainland China under the HoYoverse brand of Cognosphere Pte. Ltd. [[5]](#ref-5) It launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 for Windows, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 4. [[5]](#ref-5) A third-party estimate by Sensor Tower put its first-year spending on mobile app stores alone at about US$2 billion, which made it the commercial template for a generation of open-world gacha games. [[4]](#ref-4) Characters and weapons are obtained through a gacha system called Wishes. Its numbers are published inside the game, and its pity and guarantee design has been copied, with small changes, by most large gacha games released since. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Pull system *Main article: [Wishes](/genshin-impact/wiki/wishes)* The limited-time Character Event Wish is the main banner type. Key published rates: [[2]](#ref-2) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 5-star rate | 0.6% per wish | | Consolidated 5-star rate (including pity) | 1.6% | | Hard pity | 90 wishes, 5-star guaranteed | | 4-star guarantee | at least one 4-star or better per 10 wishes | | Cost per wish | 160 Primogems (1 Intertwined Fate) | The rate is not flat in practice. Community statistical projects have documented a sharp rate increase beginning at roughly wish 74, commonly called [soft pity](/wiki/pity-system). HoYoverse publishes only the base and consolidated figures, so soft pity thresholds are community-documented estimates rather than official numbers. Pity counters persist between banners of the same type and do not reset when a banner rotates. ## Featured-character guarantee When a 5-star character is pulled without an active guarantee, there is a 50% chance it is the banner's featured character. Losing that [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) guarantees that the next 5-star is the featured one, so a featured character costs at most 180 wishes. [[2]](#ref-2) Version 5.0 (August 2024) added Capturing Radiance: a lost 50/50 has a chance to convert into the featured character anyway. HoYoverse states the consolidated probability that a non-guaranteed 5-star is the featured character is 55%, and that Capturing Radiance triggers automatically after three consecutive 50/50 losses. The per-trigger probability outside that guarantee is not published. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Weapon banner The Weapon Event Wish uses a 0.7% base rate, a 1.85% consolidated rate, and an 80-wish hard pity. Each 5-star has a 75% chance to be one of the two featured weapons. The Epitomized Path system lets players designate one weapon; since Version 5.0 the designated weapon is guaranteed after one off-designation 5-star (a worst case of 160 wishes, down from 240 before the change). [[2]](#ref-2) ## Other banner types A permanent standard banner (Wanderlust Invocation) shares the 0.6%/90 structure but has no featured items. The Chronicled Wish, added in Version 4.5 (2024), offers a rotating pool of older characters and weapons with a designatable target. Version 6.7 (July 2026) introduced the Lightrace Wish, a limited pool of returning 5-star characters and their signature weapons with a designated-item guarantee; it shares pity with the Chronicled Wish. ## Regulation In January 2025 Cognosphere settled with the US Federal Trade Commission for US$20 million over its loot box marketing. The settlement bars selling loot boxes to players under 16 without parental consent and requires direct-purchase options, odds disclosure, and clearer virtual-currency pricing in the United States. [[3]](#ref-3) See [gacha regulation by country](/wiki/gacha-regulation) for context. ## Platforms and service history *Main article: [Release history](/genshin-impact/wiki/release-history)* A native PlayStation 5 version arrived in April 2021, and an Xbox Series X|S version in November 2024. [[5]](#ref-5) PlayStation 4 support ended on April 8, 2026, after the client was delisted in late 2025. [[6]](#ref-6) The game remains in active service on PC, mobile, PS5, and Xbox as of July 2026. References: 1. Capturing Radiance mechanic FAQ (Version 5.0) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/news/detail/125274 2. In-game Wish Details rate disclosure (Character and Weapon Event Wish) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 3. Genshin Impact game developer will be banned from selling lootboxes to teens under 16 without parental consent (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental 4. Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year (Sensor Tower): https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue 5. Genshin Impact (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genshin_Impact 6. Genshin Impact is ending PS4 support in April 2026 (Kotaku): https://kotaku.com/genshin-impact-ps4-ps5-hoyoverse-support-2000615960 ---------------------------------------- # Goddess of Victory: NIKKE URL: https://gachawiki.com/nikke Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Third-person shooter RPG by Shift Up, published by Level Infinite, released worldwide in November 2022. Known for a high 4% SSR rate paired with a 200-pull mileage spark that never expires, plus a wishlist system for targeting. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE is a free-to-play third-person shooter RPG developed by Shift Up in South Korea and published in all regions by Tencent's Level Infinite. It launched worldwide on November 4, 2022 on iOS and Android, with a Windows client following in February 2023. [[1]](#ref-1) Its gacha trades a generous headline rate for a slower targeting mechanism, an instructive contrast with low-rate, hard-pity designs. ## Pull system *Main article: [Recruit system](/nikke/wiki/recruit-system)* Pulls are called recruits and characters are Nikkes. Published numbers: [[2]](#ref-2) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base SSR rate | 4% per recruit | | Featured SSR rate (Pick-Up banners) | 2% within the 4% | | Cost per recruit | 300 Gems (3,000 for a 10-pull) | There is no rate escalation and no hard pity counter. A 4% rate means an average of 25 pulls per SSR, but only the 2% featured share targets the banner unit. ## Mileage and wishlist Every pull on Special and Pick-Up recruits grants one gold mileage ticket, and 200 tickets can be exchanged in the mileage shop for the featured SSR. Unlike most [spark](/wiki/spark) systems, gold mileage never expires and carries across banners, so partial progress toward one banner rolls into the next. [[3]](#ref-3) The standard (Ordinary) recruit uses a separate silver mileage track and adds a wishlist: after an unlock threshold, players fill 20 slots across the game's manufacturer factions, and every SSR from standard recruits then comes from those 20 choices. This narrows the standard pool without changing its rate. [[3]](#ref-3) ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/nikke/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service as of July 2026, with its 3.5-anniversary update in April 2026 and a fourth-anniversary story update announced for November 2026. No structural gacha changes have been identified in 2026. References: 1. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddess_of_Victory:_Nikke 2. Recruit rates (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (NIKKE community wiki): https://nikke-goddess-of-victory-international.fandom.com/wiki/Recruit 3. Wishlist and mileage shop rules (Prydwen): https://www.prydwen.gg/nikke/guides/wishlist ---------------------------------------- # Granblue Fantasy URL: https://gachawiki.com/granblue-fantasy Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Browser and mobile RPG by Cygames, released in Japan in March 2014. The 2016 Anchira incident made it the origin of the 300-draw spark ceiling and of per-item rate disclosure as an industry norm in Japan. Granblue Fantasy is a free-to-play menu-based RPG by Cygames, launched in Japan on March 10, 2014 for browsers and mobile devices. [[1]](#ref-1) For most of its life it had no separate international release; an official English language option was added to the Japanese service in 2016, and a worldwide Steam version (fresh accounts, no transfers, unavailable inside Japan) launched on the game's twelfth anniversary, March 10, 2026. [[1]](#ref-1) The game matters to gacha history mainly because of what happened in January 2016. ## Pull system *Main article: [Premium Draw](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/premium-draw)* Single draws cost 300 Crystals. The SSR rate is 3%, doubled to 6% during the recurring Premium Gala and Flash Gala promotions, which is when most serious pulling happens. [[2]](#ref-2) There is no hard pity and no rate escalation; the safety net is the spark, below. ## The Anchira incident and the birth of the spark *Main article: [Cerulean sparks and the Anchira incident](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks)* During the year-end 2015 to New Year 2016 Legend Festival, Cygames featured Anchira, a Year-of-the-Monkey zodiac character. Availability windows and rate-up behavior led players to spend very large sums chasing her. The case that made national news: a streamer spent about 700,000 yen (roughly US$6,065 at the time) on 2,276 draws in about a day before obtaining her. Complaints reached Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency, and Bloomberg reported that the fallout knocked over US$1 billion off Japanese mobile game company shares. Western coverage named the affair "Monkeygate". [[3]](#ref-3) Cygames apologized in January 2016 and granted compensation, and on March 10, 2016 shipped two structural changes: [[1]](#ref-1) 1. Individual per-item drop rates were disclosed for premium draws, ahead of any legal requirement. 2. Every premium draw began granting one cerulean spark, and 300 sparks (300 draws, 90,000 Crystals, roughly 90,000 yen if fully paid) can be exchanged for any item on the banner's exchange list, including the rate-up character. Sparks expire when the promotion ends. [[2]](#ref-2) The following month, Japan's industry body CESA adopted guidelines requiring member companies to disclose gacha rates or spending estimates, formalizing the norm across the industry. [[4]](#ref-4) The 300-draw ceiling became the template that the whole genre now calls the [spark](/wiki/spark); Cygames later reused a 200-pull version in [Umamusume: Pretty Derby](/wiki/umamusume-pretty-derby). ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service as of July 2026, having marked its twelfth anniversary in March 2026 with the launch of the worldwide Steam version. The 3% base rate, Gala doubling, and 300-spark ceiling are unchanged. References: 1. Granblue Fantasy (release history and the 2016 incident) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granblue_Fantasy 2. Draw rates and cerulean spark rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Granblue Fantasy community wiki): https://gbf.wiki/Draw 3. $6,065 hunt for a blonde avatar exposes dark side of Japan gaming (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/-6-065-hunt-for-blonde-avatar-exposes-dark-side-of-japan-gaming 4. CESA guidelines for random-item provision in network games (April 2016) (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (Japan)): https://www.cesa.or.jp/action/for-stakeholders/provide-items/ ---------------------------------------- # Honkai: Star Rail URL: https://gachawiki.com/honkai-star-rail Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Turn-based space-fantasy RPG by miHoYo/HoYoverse, released in April 2023. Its Warp gacha keeps Genshin Impact's 0.6% base rate, 90-pull pity, and 50/50 guarantee, with pity shared across banners of the same type. Honkai: Star Rail is a free-to-play turn-based RPG developed by miHoYo and published globally by HoYoverse. It launched on April 26, 2023 for Windows, iOS, and Android, with a PlayStation 5 version following in October 2023. [[2]](#ref-2) It adapts the Wish model from [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) nearly unchanged, which made the two games the standard reference points for "HoYoverse-style" pity math. ## Pull system *Main article: [Warps](/honkai-star-rail/wiki/warps)* Pulls are called Warps. The limited Character Event Warp publishes these numbers: [[1]](#ref-1) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 5-star rate | 0.6% per warp | | Consolidated 5-star rate (including pity) | 1.6% | | Hard pity | 90 warps, 5-star guaranteed | | Cost per warp | 160 Stellar Jade (1 Star Rail Special Pass) | Community statistics document a soft pity ramp starting near warp 74; HoYoverse does not publish soft pity values. Pity and the featured guarantee carry over between banners of the same type, including into reruns. [[1]](#ref-1) The featured guarantee is a plain [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty): half of non-guaranteed 5-star results are the featured character, and a loss makes the next 5-star guaranteed, for a worst case of 180 warps. As of July 2026 the game has not adopted a Capturing Radiance style modifier, so its featured odds are slightly worse than Genshin Impact's on paper. ## Light cone banner Light cones (equippable weapons) use the Light Cone Event Warp: 0.8% base rate, 1.87% consolidated, hard pity at 80, and a 75% chance that a 5-star is the featured light cone, with a guarantee after a loss. The worst case for a featured light cone is 160 warps. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Collaboration banners Version 3.4 (July 2025) introduced the game's first external collaboration, with Fate/stay night. Collaboration warps form a separate banner category: their pity pool is shared only among collaboration banners and does not transfer to regular limited or standard warps, and the collaboration characters do not enter the standard pool afterward. [[3]](#ref-3) See [collaboration event](/wiki/collaboration-event) for the general pattern. ## Duplicates Duplicate 5-star characters convert into Eidolons, the game's [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system): up to six duplicates each unlock an upgrade for the character. The structure mirrors Genshin Impact's Constellations. ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/honkai-star-rail/wiki/release-history)* The game remains in active service on PC, mobile, and PS5 as of July 2026, on a roughly six-week version cadence. No changes to its base rates, pity counts, or guarantee structure have been made since launch. References: 1. In-game Warp Details rate disclosure (Character and Light Cone Event Warp) (HoYoverse): https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/en-us/home 2. Honkai: Star Rail (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honkai:_Star_Rail 3. Honkai: Star Rail Fate/stay night collaboration warp details (Version 3.4) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Honkai-Star-Rail/archives/462460 ---------------------------------------- # Neverness to Everness URL: https://gachawiki.com/neverness-to-everness Type: game | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Open-world urban supernatural RPG by Hotta Studio, launched in China on April 23, 2026 and globally on April 29, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile, with driving and city-life systems alongside gacha character banners. Neverness to Everness (commonly NTE) is a free-to-play open-world RPG by Hotta Studio, a Perfect World subsidiary, set in a contemporary city with supernatural "anomaly" phenomena. It launched in mainland China on April 23, 2026 and globally on April 29, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5, iOS, and Android. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2) Unusual features for the genre include drivable vehicles with traffic, property and shop management, and a city-life layer closer to a life sim than the wilderness exploration of [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact)-style games. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Pull system *Main article: [Gacha system](/neverness-to-everness/wiki/gacha-system)* NTE monetizes through limited character banners in the gacha pattern. This page does not yet document its rates, pity, or guarantee numbers: they need to be transcribed from the in-game rate disclosure and cited before this section can be marked verified. If you play NTE, [you can help](/contribute) by submitting the numbers from the pull screen's rules text. References: 1. Neverness to Everness (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverness_to_Everness 2. Neverness to Everness launches April 29 (Notebookcheck): https://www.notebookcheck.net/Neverness-to-Everness-launches-April-29.1280002.0.html ---------------------------------------- # Umamusume: Pretty Derby URL: https://gachawiki.com/umamusume-pretty-derby Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Horse-racing training simulator by Cygames, released in Japan in February 2021 and globally in June 2025. Runs two parallel gachas (characters and support cards) at 3% top rates, each with a 200-pull exchange ceiling. Umamusume: Pretty Derby is a free-to-play training simulator by Cygames in which players coach anthropomorphized racehorses through racing careers. It launched in Japan on February 24, 2021 and became one of Japan's highest-grossing mobile games. The global English version launched on June 26, 2025 for iOS, Android, and Steam, published by Cygames itself. [[1]](#ref-1) [[3]](#ref-3) ## Pull system *Main article: [Gacha system](/umamusume-pretty-derby/wiki/gacha-system)* The game runs two parallel gachas, and effective play requires both: a character gacha for the trainable umamusume and a support card gacha for the cards that shape each training run. Published numbers for each: [[2]](#ref-2) | Parameter | Character gacha | Support card gacha | | --- | --- | --- | | Top rarity rate | 3% (3-star character) | 3% (SSR card) | | Featured rate-up | typically 0.75% | typically 0.75% | | Cost per pull | 150 Carats | 150 Carats | | Exchange ceiling | 200 points | 200 points | Every pull grants one exchange point, and 200 points buy the banner's featured 3-star character or SSR card outright, a ceiling of 30,000 Carats. Points are per banner and expire when it ends. [[2]](#ref-2) There is no rate escalation and no hard pity below the ceiling. The two-gacha structure roughly doubles the spending surface compared with single-gacha games, and support cards, not characters, are usually the competitive bottleneck, since cards benefit from duplicates (limit breaks) up to four times. See [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system). ## Relation to the spark tradition The 200-point exchange follows the ceiling convention Cygames established in [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy) in 2016, halved from 300 to 200 pulls. The Japanese community calls both by the same name, tenjou (ceiling); English-speaking players usually say [spark](/wiki/spark). ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/umamusume-pretty-derby/wiki/release-history)* Both the Japanese and global versions are in active service as of July 2026. The global version marked its first anniversary on June 26, 2026, alongside the release of the main story finale. No structural gacha changes have been identified in 2026. References: 1. Cygames announces global release of Umamusume Pretty Derby on June 26, 2025 (Cygames): https://www.cygames.co.jp/en/news/id-24452 2. Gacha rates and exchange point rules (secondary documentation of in-game disclosure) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Umamusume-Pretty-Derby/archives/538219 3. Umamusume: Pretty Derby (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umamusume:_Pretty_Derby ---------------------------------------- # Wuthering Waves URL: https://gachawiki.com/wuthering-waves Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Open-world action RPG by Kuro Games, released in May 2024. Its Convene gacha uses a 0.8% base rate with an 80-pull pity, and its weapon banner guarantees the featured weapon on every 5-star, with no 50/50. Wuthering Waves is a free-to-play open-world action RPG developed and published by Kuro Games of Guangzhou. It launched on May 22, 2024 for Windows, iOS, and Android, reached PlayStation 5 in January 2025 and Steam in April 2025, and launches on Xbox Series X|S on July 10, 2026 with Version 3.5. [[3]](#ref-3) [[2]](#ref-2) Tencent acquired a majority stake in Kuro Games in late 2024; the studio continues to operate the game itself. [[3]](#ref-3) The game is the most direct large-scale competitor to [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact), and its gacha tweaks the HoYoverse formula in the player's favor at several points. ## Pull system *Main article: [Convenes](/wuthering-waves/wiki/convenes)* Pulls are called Convenes and playable characters are Resonators. The limited Featured Resonator Convene publishes these numbers: [[1]](#ref-1) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 5-star rate | 0.8% per convene | | Average 5-star rate including guarantee | 1.8% | | Hard pity | 80 convenes, 5-star guaranteed | | Cost per convene | 160 Astrite (1 Radiant Tide) | The featured guarantee is a [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty): a lost flip guarantees the featured Resonator on the next 5-star, for a worst case of 160 convenes. Community measurements place a soft pity ramp near convene 66; Kuro Games does not publish soft pity values. ## Weapon banner The Featured Weapon Convene is notable for having no 50/50 at all: every 5-star result is the featured weapon, with the same 0.8% base rate and 80-pull hard pity, so a featured weapon costs at most 80 convenes. [[1]](#ref-1) This is one of the friendlier weapon banners among major gacha games; compare the 75/25 systems in [Honkai: Star Rail](/wiki/honkai-star-rail) and [Zenless Zone Zero](/wiki/zenless-zone-zero) on the [pity comparison table](/compare/pity-systems). ## Collaboration and special banners The game's first external collaboration ran in Version 3.4 (June 8 to July 9, 2026) with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners: the collaboration character used a separate convene with its own currency and pity pool, and a second collaboration character was given away free. Version 3.5 (July 10, 2026) adds Starpath Reverbs, a rerun banner covering six characters from the game's first year together with their signature weapons. ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/wuthering-waves/wiki/release-history)* The game is in active service on all platforms as of July 2026. Base rates, pity counts, and the weapon banner's full guarantee are unchanged since launch. References: 1. In-game Convene Details rate disclosure (Featured Resonator and Featured Weapon Convene) (Kuro Games): https://wutheringwaves.kurogames.com/en/main 2. Wuthering Waves comes to Xbox on July 10, 2026 (Xbox Wire (Microsoft)): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/04/07/wuthering-waves-xbox/ 3. Wuthering Waves (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Waves ---------------------------------------- # Zenless Zone Zero URL: https://gachawiki.com/zenless-zone-zero Type: game | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Urban action RPG by miHoYo/HoYoverse, released in July 2024. Its Signal Search gacha follows the HoYoverse pattern (0.6% base, 90-pull pity, 50/50) and adds a separate free banner for Bangboo companions. Zenless Zone Zero is a free-to-play urban action RPG developed by miHoYo and published globally by HoYoverse. It launched on July 4, 2024 for Windows, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5, and came to Xbox Series X|S in June 2025 alongside Version 2.0, including Game Pass availability. [[3]](#ref-3) [[2]](#ref-2) ## Pull system *Main article: [Signal Search](/zenless-zone-zero/wiki/signal-search)* The gacha is called Signal Search, and playable characters are Agents. The limited Exclusive Channel publishes these numbers: [[1]](#ref-1) | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base S-rank rate | 0.6% per pull | | Consolidated S-rank rate (including pity) | 1.6% | | Hard pity | 90 pulls, S-rank guaranteed | | Cost per pull | 160 Polychrome (1 Encrypted Master Tape) | The structure is the HoYoverse standard: a [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) featured guarantee where a loss makes the next S-rank the featured Agent (worst case 180 pulls), pity that carries between banners of the same channel type, and a community-documented soft pity ramp near pull 75 that HoYoverse does not officially confirm. As of July 2026 there is no Capturing Radiance style modifier. ## W-Engine and Bangboo channels The W-Engine Channel (equipment) uses a 1.0% base rate, 2.0% consolidated, hard pity at 80, and a 75% featured chance with a guarantee after a loss, for a worst case of 160 pulls. [[1]](#ref-1) A third channel is unusual among HoYoverse games: the Bangboo Channel pulls companion units using Boopons, a currency earned in play rather than bought. It has a 1% S-rank rate and an 80-pull guarantee, and players select which Bangboo the guarantee targets. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Service status *Main article: [Release history](/zenless-zone-zero/wiki/release-history)* The game remains in active service on PC, mobile, PS5, and Xbox as of July 2026. Version 3.0 launched in June 2026 (the numbering skipped 2.9). Base rates, pity counts, and guarantee structure are unchanged since launch. References: 1. In-game Signal Search Details rate disclosure (Exclusive and W-Engine Channel) (HoYoverse): https://zenless.hoyoverse.com/en-us/main 2. Zenless Zone Zero Version 2.0 and Xbox release announcement (HoYoverse): https://zenless.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/124378 3. Zenless Zone Zero (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenless_Zone_Zero ---------------------------------------- # Headhunting (arknights wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights/wiki/headhunting Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Arknights' gacha in detail. The 2% six-star rate, the published escalation that reaches 100% by pull 99, the weak featured guarantees, and how the counter carries between standard banners. Headhunting is Arknights' gacha. A single headhunt costs 600 Orundum or one Headhunting Permit; a 10-pull costs 6,000. Its design predates the HoYoverse pattern and solves the bad-luck problem differently: instead of a hidden ramp and a hard wall, the escalation is printed in the rules text. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates and escalation | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | Base 6-star rate | 2% per pull | | Escalation | after 50 pulls without a 6-star, the rate rises 2 points per pull: 4% at 51, 6% at 52, reaching 100% by pull 99 | | 5-star floor | a 5-star or better is guaranteed within a banner's first 10 pulls | | Cost | 600 Orundum per pull | Because the escalation is official, the expected cost is computable exactly from published rules: about 34.6 pulls per 6-star on average, a widely cited community computation. The worst case is 99 pulls. This makes Arknights one of the few games where no part of the pity math relies on community measurement; compare the unpublished soft pity ramps in the HoYoverse games on the [pity system](/wiki/pity-system) page. The escalation counter carries over between successive standard banners, but limited, collaboration, and Kernel banners track it independently. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Featured guarantees The featured side is weaker than the rate side. On standard banners each 6-star has a 50% chance of being one of the two rate-up operators, with no loss protection and no carry-over: a plain fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up), not a 50/50. Limited banners guarantee that the first 6-star after 150 pulls is a rate-up limited operator, once per banner, and collaboration banners guarantee the featured 6-star within 120 pulls. [[1]](#ref-1) Since 2024, limited banners add a real ceiling through [Headhunting Data Contracts](/arknights/wiki/headhunting-data-contracts), the game's spark system, which caps a limited operator at 300 pulls. References: 1. Headhunting rates and escalation rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Arknights community wiki): https://arknights.wiki.gg/wiki/Headhunting ---------------------------------------- # Headhunting Data Contracts (arknights wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights/wiki/headhunting-data-contracts Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Arknights' spark system, added in 2024. One contract per pull on limited banners, 300 buy the rate-up limited six-star, 75 buy a rate-up five-star, and contracts expire when the banner ends. Headhunting Data Contracts are Arknights' [spark](/wiki/spark): a deterministic exchange ceiling layered onto limited banners. The system arrived in 2024, starting with the "Cremation Last Wish" limited banner, five years into the game's life and after years of community requests. [[1]](#ref-1) ## The rules - Every pull on a limited banner grants 1 Headhunting Data Contract. [[1]](#ref-1) - 300 contracts can be exchanged for the banner's rate-up limited 6-star operator. [[1]](#ref-1) - 75 contracts can be exchanged for a rate-up 5-star operator. [[1]](#ref-1) - Contracts expire when the banner ends, converting into a small amount of shop currency; nothing carries to the next limited banner. [[1]](#ref-1) The 300 figure follows the Granblue Fantasy convention (see [cerulean sparks](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks)), and the expiry rule is the strict version of the pattern: the ceiling only protects players who commit all 300 pulls inside one banner window. ## The 2025 discount From the "Our Kind" limited banner onward, the exchange cost for shop 6-star operators originally released four or more years earlier (five or more for the Festival limited class) dropped from 300 to 200 contracts, a partial answer to the growing backlog of old limited operators. [[1]](#ref-1) ## How it interacts with the other systems The spark sits on top of the escalation and the 150-pull limited guarantee described on the [Headhunting](/arknights/wiki/headhunting) page. In practice the layers produce this ladder for a limited banner: escalation caps a 6-star drought at 99 pulls, the 150-pull rule guarantees one rate-up limited 6-star, and 300 contracts guarantee the specific one you wanted. Cross-game context is in the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems). References: 1. Headhunting Data Contract (spark) rules (Arknights community wiki): https://arknights.wiki.gg/wiki/Headhunting_Data_Contract ---------------------------------------- # Release history (arknights wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Arknights' timeline, from the May 2019 Chinese launch and January 2020 global release through the sixth global anniversary in 2026 and the launch of its sibling game Endfield. Arknights launched in mainland China on May 1, 2019, developed and published by Hypergryph, and went global on January 16, 2020 with Yostar publishing the English, Japanese, and Korean servers. It remains mobile-only. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2019-05-01 | China launch (iOS, Android) [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2020-01-16 | Global release, published by Yostar [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2024 | Limited banners gain the Data Contract spark, from the "Cremation Last Wish" banner | | 2026-01-16 to 02-06 | Global sixth anniversary event, with a 300-contract spark limited banner | | 2026-01-22 | Arknights: Endfield launches worldwide as a separate game [[2]](#ref-2) | As of July 2026 Arknights is in active service on iOS and Android in all regions, with no announced end of service and a 2026 banner calendar running normally. [Arknights: Endfield](/arknights-endfield) is a parallel title on PC, PlayStation 5, and mobile, not a replacement; the original game's systems are documented on the [Headhunting](/arknights/wiki/headhunting) page. References: 1. Arknights (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arknights 2. Arknights: Endfield launches January 22, 2026 (Gematsu): https://www.gematsu.com/2025/12/arknights-endfield-launches-january-22-2026 ---------------------------------------- # Gacha system (arknights-endfield wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/arknights-endfield/wiki/gacha-system Type: game-wiki | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Endfield's character banner system. This page documents what is verified so far and openly lists what still needs transcription from the in-game rate disclosure. Arknights: Endfield monetizes through limited character banners in the gacha pattern, running since its worldwide launch on January 22, 2026. [[1]](#ref-1) ## What is verified - The game launched with character banners and a premium pull currency, in the standard limited-banner cadence. [[1]](#ref-1) - It is a separate game from [Arknights](/arknights), whose escalation-based [headhunting](/arknights/wiki/headhunting) rules do not automatically apply here. ## What this page still needs The numbers: base six-star rate, any escalation or pity thresholds, featured guarantee rules, spark or exchange mechanics, and per-pull currency cost. These live in the in-game pull screen's rules text and need to be transcribed and cited before this page can be marked verified. If you play Endfield, [transcribing that rules text](/contribute) (screenshots welcome) is currently the single most useful contribution to this wiki. Until then, GachaWiki deliberately prints no numbers for this game rather than repeating unverified ones; the reasoning is in the [editorial policy](/editorial-policy). References: 1. Arknights: Endfield sets January 22, 2026 global launch date (Games Press (publisher press release)): https://www.gamespress.com/en-US/Arknights-Endfield-Sets-Jan-22-2026-Global-Launch-Date-Revealed-at-The ---------------------------------------- # Recruitment (blue-archive wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/blue-archive/wiki/recruitment Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Blue Archive's gacha in detail. The 3% three-star rate and its 2022 increase, Fes banners at 6%, Pyroxene costs, and the 200-point exchange spark that resets with every banner. Recruitment is Blue Archive's gacha. A single recruit costs 120 Pyroxene, a 10-recruit 1,200. The design is the cleanest teaching example of the [spark](/wiki/spark) family: flat rates, no pity curve, and one deterministic ceiling. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | 3-star student | 3% (raised permanently from 2.5% in July 2022) | | Featured student | typically 0.7% within the 3% | | Fes banners | 3-star rate doubled to 6% during anniversary periods | | Cost | 120 Pyroxene per recruit | The featured share is a fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up) with no loss protection: an off-banner 3-star does nothing for your target. There is no escalation and no hard pity at any pull count. [[1]](#ref-1) ## The 200-point exchange Every recruit grants one recruitment point. At 200 points, the banner's featured student can be exchanged outright, making 200 recruits (24,000 Pyroxene) a strict ceiling. Points are per banner and expire when it ends, with no carry-over; partial progress protects nothing. [[1]](#ref-1) Fes banners follow the same exchange rules at double rates, which is why anniversary periods dominate pull planning in this game: the same 200-pull commitment buys twice the expected 3-stars along the way. ## Duplicates Duplicate students convert to Eligma, which raises star grades; farmable shards can substitute for pulled copies for many students. Because the ceiling is fixed and duplicates have an alternate path, Blue Archive's cost profile is unusually predictable; see [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system) for the comparison across games. References: 1. Recruitment rates and exchange rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Blue Archive community wiki): https://bluearchive.wiki/wiki/Recruitment_(Gacha) ---------------------------------------- # Release history (blue-archive wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/blue-archive/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Blue Archive's timeline, from the February 2021 Japanese launch under Yostar and the November 2021 global release by Nexon to the July 2025 Steam client and the 2026 fifth anniversary. Blue Archive is developed by Nexon Games in South Korea and runs as two services with different publishers: Yostar publishes the Japanese version, and Nexon publishes the global version. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2021-02-04 | Japan launch (iOS, Android), published by Yostar [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2021-11-08 | Global release, published by Nexon [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2022-07 | Base 3-star rate raised from 2.5% to 3% | | 2025-07-04 | Steam PC client for the global version; region-restricted, not available in Japan [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2026-01 to 02 | JP fifth anniversary (February 4) with the usual 6% Fes banner and free-pull campaign | As of July 2026 both services are active, the global version past its 4.5-year mark and the Japanese version past five. The July 2025 Steam client made it one of the few originally mobile-only gachas to add PC distribution mid-life. Gacha rules are on the [Recruitment](/blue-archive/wiki/recruitment) page. References: 1. Blue Archive (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Archive 2. Blue Archive Steam release (July 4, 2025) (RPG Site): https://www.rpgsite.net/news/17857-blue-archive-pc-steam-client-new-launch-date-confirmed-on-july-4 ---------------------------------------- # Guaranteed Summon (330-roll pity) (fate-grand-order wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/fate-grand-order/wiki/guaranteed-summon Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 FGO's only safety net, added in January 2022 after six and a half years without one. How the 330-roll guarantee works, what counts toward it, the per-banner reset, and the 2024 and 2026 repeatability changes. For six and a half years Fate/Grand Order had no pity of any kind, the most famous holdout in the genre. The Guaranteed Summon changed that: announced in late December 2021 and live in Japan with the New Year 2022 campaign, it guarantees the featured SSR servant on the 330th roll of a banner if it has not already appeared. [[1]](#ref-1) The English server received it in November 2022 with the Heian-kyo banner, years ahead of its usual content delay. [[2]](#ref-2) ## The rules - Applies to limited banners with an end date; the permanent Story Summon is excluded. [[3]](#ref-3) - Free Saint Quartz, paid Saint Quartz, and Summon Tickets all count toward the 330. [[3]](#ref-3) - The counter is per banner and does not carry over when the banner ends. On rotating banners, the counter tracks the featured SSR of the day. [[3]](#ref-3) - Off-banner SSR "spooks" do not reset the counter; only obtaining the featured SSR does. [[3]](#ref-3) At 3 Saint Quartz per roll, reaching the guarantee costs 990 Saint Quartz, several hundred US dollars at typical bundle pricing, which is why the system is best understood as a disaster ceiling rather than a discount. Mechanically it behaves like an automatic [spark](/wiki/spark) set at 330 rather than a pull-count [pity](/wiki/pity-system). ## Repeatability changes As introduced, the guarantee was once per banner. Japan removed that limit at the game's ninth anniversary in August 2024: the counter now re-arms every 330 rolls, resetting each time the featured SSR is obtained, with a visible counter added to the summon screen. The English server matched this at its own ninth anniversary in June 2026, making a five-copy grail of a single servant a bounded (if enormous) 1,650-roll worst case. [[3]](#ref-3) The per-banner reset remains the sharpest edge: unlike HoYoverse pity, nothing you rolled last banner helps you next banner. References: 1. Fate/Grand Order implements a pity system in gacha (January 2022, Japan) (Siliconera): https://www.siliconera.com/fate-grand-order-implements-a-pity-system-in-gacha/ 2. English version of Fate/Grand Order to get pity system early (Siliconera): https://www.siliconera.com/english-version-of-fgo-to-get-pity-system-early/ 3. Rate-Up SSR Pity System rules (community documentation) (Fate/Grand Order community wiki): https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Rate-Up_SSR_Pity_System ---------------------------------------- # Release history (fate-grand-order wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/fate-grand-order/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Fate/Grand Order's timeline, from the July 2015 Japanese launch and 2017 English release through the Delightworks to Lasengle transfer and the anniversaries that reshaped its gacha rules. Fate/Grand Order launched in Japan on July 29, 2015 for Android, with iOS following on August 12. The English version launched in North America on June 25, 2017. It remains mobile-only, one of the few top-grossing gacha games never released on PC. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2015-07-29 | Japan launch (Android); iOS on 2015-08-12 [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2017-06-25 | English release in North America, published by Aniplex of America [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2019 | 11-roll multis (10 plus 1) become standard from the JP fourth anniversary | | 2021-12-28 | Development transfers from Delightworks to the new studio Lasengle [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2022-02-01 | Aniplex acquires Lasengle [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2022-01 | Japan adds the 330-roll Guaranteed Summon; English server follows 2022-11-21 | | 2024-08 | JP ninth anniversary makes the guarantee repeatable | | 2026-06-25 | English ninth anniversary campaign begins; repeatable guarantee arrives on the English server | As of July 2026 both the Japanese and English services are active, with the English server's anniversary campaign running into mid-July. Gacha details live on the [Summoning](/fate-grand-order/wiki/summoning) and [Guaranteed Summon](/fate-grand-order/wiki/guaranteed-summon) pages. References: 1. Fate/Grand Order (development and release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate/Grand_Order 2. Fate/Grand Order to launch in North America on June 25 (2017) (Anime News Network (Aniplex press release)): https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/press-release/2017-06-13/fate-grand-order-to-launch-in-north-america-on-june-25/.117371 ---------------------------------------- # Summoning (fate-grand-order wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/fate-grand-order/wiki/summoning Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Fate/Grand Order's gacha in detail. The 1% SSR servant rate, Saint Quartz costs, how rate-ups split the rate, Craft Essences in the pool, and why the odds never improve below the 330-roll guarantee. Fate/Grand Order's gacha is the Saint Quartz summon. It predates the pity era and, below its one guarantee, still works the way Japanese mobile gachas worked in 2015: flat rates, no ramps, no coin flips. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates and costs | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | 5-star (SSR) servant | 1% | | 4-star (SR) servant | 3% | | Rest of pool | 3-star servants and Craft Essences of all rarities | | Single roll | 3 Saint Quartz or 1 Summon Ticket | | 11-roll multi | 30 Saint Quartz (10 plus 1 bonus, standard since 2019) | On a rate-up banner the overall SSR rate stays 1%; a solo featured servant typically takes about 0.7 points of it, a split the community documents from the in-game disclosure. [[1]](#ref-1) The rest of the 1% goes to the permanent pool, so "spooks" (off-banner SSRs) are a routine outcome. This is the classic fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up), not a 50/50: an off-banner SSR gives no protection toward the featured one. Craft Essences matter for cost modeling: a large share of high-rarity results are equipment cards rather than servants, which is why FGO budgets should count only servant rates, not "SSR anything" rates. ## What the math looks like At a flat 1% with no soft pity, the median first SSR servant arrives around roll 69, but the featured servant at 0.7% has a median near roll 99, and 1 player in 20 would pass roll 425 without them. Those tails are why the [330-roll guarantee](/fate-grand-order/wiki/guaranteed-summon) was eventually added, and why the game remains the reference example in the [pull probability article](/wiki/gacha-probability) for pre-pity design. There is no exchange system below the guarantee, no escalation, and no carry-over of anything between banners. References: 1. Summoning rates and Saint Quartz costs (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Fate/Grand Order community wiki): https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Summoning ---------------------------------------- # Release history (genshin-impact wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/genshin-impact/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Every platform Genshin Impact has launched on and left, from the September 2020 worldwide release through the Xbox port, the PS4 sunset in April 2026, and the January 2025 FTC settlement. Genshin Impact launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 for Windows, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 4, one of the first gacha games to treat console and PC as first-class platforms from day one. [[1]](#ref-1) Sensor Tower estimated about US$2 billion in first-year spending on mobile app stores alone, a third-party figure that excludes PC and console revenue. [[4]](#ref-4) ## Platform timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2020-09-28 | Worldwide launch: Windows, iOS, Android, PS4 [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2021-04-28 | Native PlayStation 5 version [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2024-11-20 | Xbox Series X and S version [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-09-10 | HarmonyOS NEXT version [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-09-09 | PS4 client delisted from the PlayStation Store [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2026-02-25 | In-game purchases disabled on PS4 [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2026-04-08 | PS4 support ends; accounts continue on other platforms [[2]](#ref-2) | As of July 2026 the game is in active service on PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S, with full cross-progression. The PS4 sunset is the first platform retirement in the game's history; account data survives because progression is server-side. See [end of service](/wiki/end-of-service) for how the genre handles platform and service shutdowns. ## Regulatory events On January 17, 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission announced a US$20 million settlement with Cognosphere over Genshin Impact's loot box marketing: no loot box sales to players under 16 without parental consent, mandatory odds disclosure, a direct real-currency purchase option, and clearer virtual-currency exchange rates in the United States. [[3]](#ref-3) The broader context is on the [gacha regulation](/wiki/gacha-regulation) page. References: 1. Genshin Impact (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genshin_Impact 2. Genshin Impact is ending PS4 support in April 2026 (Kotaku): https://kotaku.com/genshin-impact-ps4-ps5-hoyoverse-support-2000615960 3. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer (January 17, 2025) (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental 4. Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year (Sensor Tower): https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue ---------------------------------------- # Wishes (genshin-impact wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/genshin-impact/wiki/wishes Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Genshin Impact's gacha in full. Every banner type, the published rates, hard and soft pity, the 50/50 and Capturing Radiance, Epitomized Path, and how pity carries between banners, with sources. Wishes are Genshin Impact's gacha. One wish costs one Fate; Fates cost 160 Primogems each or drop from progression and events. The rules below come from the Wish screen's own Details text unless marked otherwise. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Banner types | Banner | Featured | 5-star base rate | Hard pity | Featured guarantee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Character Event Wish | 1 limited 5-star character | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | 50/50, loss guarantees next; 55% consolidated since Capturing Radiance | | Weapon Event Wish | 2 limited 5-star weapons | 0.7% (1.85% consolidated) | 80 | 75/25 per 5-star; Epitomized Path guarantees the designated weapon at 1 Fate Point | | Wanderlust Invocation (standard) | none, permanent pool | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | none | | Chronicled Wish (since 4.5, 2024) | rotating pool of past characters and weapons | 0.6% class rates | 90 | player designates one target | | Lightrace Wish (since 6.7, July 2026) | curated pool of returning 5-stars with signature weapons | not yet transcribed | shares pity with Chronicled Wish | designated item, 1 Fate Point [[3]](#ref-3) | Two or three Character Event Wishes usually run in parallel with the same rules and a shared pity counter. ## Pity mechanics The 90-wish hard pity is published; the consolidated 1.6% rate implies an average of 62.5 wishes per 5-star. A 4-star or better is guaranteed at least once per 10 wishes. [[1]](#ref-1) Community statistical projects consistently measure a steep rate ramp beginning near wish 74 (soft [pity](/wiki/pity-system)); HoYoverse does not publish soft pity values, so treat the 74 figure as a community-documented estimate. Pity and the 50/50 guarantee state persist across banners of the same type and across version updates. Nothing resets when a banner ends. ## The 50/50 and Capturing Radiance On the character banner, a 5-star without an active guarantee has a 50% chance of being the featured character; losing sends a standard-pool 5-star and guarantees the featured character on the next 5-star, so 180 wishes is the strict worst case. Since Version 5.0 (August 2024), Capturing Radiance can convert a lost 50/50 into the featured character anyway: HoYoverse publishes a 55% consolidated featured share and states the conversion is guaranteed after three consecutive losses. The per-trigger rate below that ceiling is not published. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Epitomized Path On the weapon banner, players designate one of the two featured weapons. Each 5-star that is not the designated weapon adds a Fate Point; at 1 point (reduced from 2 in Version 5.0) the next 5-star is the designated weapon, capping the worst case at 160 wishes. [[1]](#ref-1) ## What this costs Using published numbers: a 5-star costs 62.5 wishes on average (1 divided by the 1.6% consolidated rate), and under the 55% consolidated featured share a featured character consumes 1.45 five-stars on average (55% one, 45% two because the loss arms a guarantee). That works out to roughly 91 wishes per featured character on average, with 180 as the strict worst case. The [pull probability article](/wiki/gacha-probability) walks through the method, and the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) puts these numbers next to other games. References: 1. In-game Wish Details rate disclosure (Character and Weapon Event Wish) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. Capturing Radiance mechanic FAQ (Version 5.0) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/news/detail/125274 3. Lightrace Wish coverage (Version 6.7, July 2026) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Genshin-Impact/archives/605807 ---------------------------------------- # Cerulean sparks and the Anchira incident (granblue-fantasy wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The origin of the spark. The January 2016 Anchira incident, the 6,065 dollar night that made national news, and the March 2016 response that gave the genre rate disclosure and the 300-draw ceiling. Every spark system in the genre descends from what happened in Granblue Fantasy across ten weeks in early 2016. This page documents the incident and the fix, both unusually well sourced for gacha history because the fallout reached the financial press. ## The incident During the year-end Legend Festival running into January 2016, Cygames featured Anchira, a Year-of-the-Monkey zodiac character, at boosted rates with a tightening availability window. Players chased her at extraordinary cost. The case that defined the story: a streamer documented spending about 686,000 yen (about US$6,065 at the time) on 2,276 draws in roughly one night before obtaining her. [[1]](#ref-1) More than two thousand players signed a protest petition, complaints reached Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency, national television covered it, and Bloomberg reported that the episode helped wipe over US$1 billion off Japanese mobile game company shares. Western coverage called it "Monkeygate". [[1]](#ref-1) The structural problem was the one [Fate/Grand Order](/fate-grand-order) players knew well: a fractional rate-up with no floor. Nothing prevented a 2,276-draw dry streak on the featured character, and nothing guaranteed draw 2,277 either. ## The response Cygames apologized in early January 2016 and granted compensation in crystals matching festival spending. The durable changes shipped on March 10, 2016, the game's second anniversary: [[2]](#ref-2) 1. Per-item drop rates became public for premium draws, listing every weapon and summon with its exact probability, ahead of any legal requirement. 2. Every premium draw began granting one cerulean spark. 300 sparks (90,000 Crystals, roughly 90,000 yen if fully paid) exchange for any item on the promotion's list, including the rate-up characters. Sparks expire when the promotion ends. Six weeks later, on April 27, 2016, Japan's industry body CESA adopted guidelines requiring member companies to disclose gacha rates or spending estimates, with the major publishers as endorsers. [[3]](#ref-3) Voluntary crisis response became industry norm; the norm later became law elsewhere (see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure)). ## The legacy "To spark" a character now means banking 300 pulls in any game, and the Japanese term tenjou (ceiling) covers the whole family: Blue Archive's and Umamusume's 200-point exchanges, Arknights' 300 [Data Contracts](/arknights/wiki/headhunting-data-contracts), NIKKE's persistent mileage, and FGO's 330-roll guarantee are all descendants. The full family tree is on the [spark](/wiki/spark) page, with current values in the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems). References: 1. $6,065 hunt for a blonde avatar exposes dark side of Japan gaming (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/-6-065-hunt-for-blonde-avatar-exposes-dark-side-of-japan-gaming 2. Draw rates and cerulean spark rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Granblue Fantasy community wiki): https://gbf.wiki/Draw 3. CESA guidelines for random-item provision in network games (April 2016) (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (Japan)): https://www.cesa.or.jp/action/for-stakeholders/provide-items/ ---------------------------------------- # Premium Draw (granblue-fantasy wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/granblue-fantasy/wiki/premium-draw Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Granblue Fantasy's gacha in detail. The 3% SSR rate doubled to 6% during Gala banners, Crystal costs, draw tickets, and how the cerulean spark ceiling caps every promotion at 300 draws. Granblue Fantasy's Premium Draw costs 300 Crystals per single (or one Premium Draw Ticket) and 3,000 Crystals for a 10-part draw. The game has disclosed per-item rates since March 2016, earlier than any legal requirement anywhere; the numbers below come from that disclosure. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | SSR (characters via weapons, and summons) | 3% | | During Premium Gala / Legend Festival and Flash Gala / Grande Fest | 6% | | Cost | 300 Crystals per draw, 3,000 per 10-part | The doubled-rate Gala banners recur monthly and are when nearly all serious pulling happens; pulling outside a Gala costs twice as much per expected SSR. Featured items get modest [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up) shares within the disclosed table, with no loss protection of any kind. [[1]](#ref-1) A structural quirk inherited from the game's 2014 design: playable characters mostly arrive attached to weapons in the draw pool, so "drawing a character" means drawing their weapon. The rate disclosure lists each weapon and summon individually with its exact percentage, which is the level of transparency the rest of the industry later adopted in aggregate form; see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure). ## The ceiling There is no per-pull pity and no escalation. The safety net is the [cerulean spark](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks): every draw grants one spark, and 300 sparks exchange for any listed item on the current promotion, including the rate-up characters. Sparks expire when the promotion ends. The system's origin story and exact rules have their own page. References: 1. Draw rates and cerulean spark rules (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Granblue Fantasy community wiki): https://gbf.wiki/Draw ---------------------------------------- # Release history (granblue-fantasy wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/granblue-fantasy/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Granblue Fantasy's timeline, from the March 2014 Japanese browser launch through the 2016 English language option to the worldwide Steam release on its twelfth anniversary in March 2026. Granblue Fantasy launched in Japan on March 10, 2014 as a browser game with iOS and Android apps, originally on the Mobage platform. For over a decade it had no formal international release, an unusual trajectory for a game of its revenue class. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2014-03-10 | Japan launch: browser, iOS, Android [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2016-01 | The Anchira incident (see [cerulean sparks](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks)) | | 2016-03-10 | Second anniversary: per-item rate disclosure and the 300-draw spark [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2016-03-31 | Official English language option added to the Japanese service [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2026-03-10 | Twelfth anniversary: worldwide Steam version launches; fresh accounts only, no transfers from the original service, unavailable inside Japan and some regions [[2]](#ref-2) | As of July 2026 both the original service and the Steam version are active. The Steam release, announced at the Granblue Fantasy Fes livestream in late December 2025, is the game's first true global distribution; the 3% base rate, Gala doubling, and 300-spark ceiling documented on the [Premium Draw](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/premium-draw) page apply unchanged. [[2]](#ref-2) References: 1. Granblue Fantasy (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granblue_Fantasy 2. Granblue Fantasy formally available worldwide on PC via Steam on March 10 (2026) (RPG Site): https://www.rpgsite.net/news/19276-granblue-fantasy-will-be-formally-available-worldwide-on-pc-via-steam-on-march-10 ---------------------------------------- # Release history (honkai-star-rail wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/honkai-star-rail/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Honkai Star Rail's platform timeline, from the April 2023 launch on PC and mobile through the PS5 port, the delayed PS4 version, and the Fate collaboration era. Honkai: Star Rail launched on April 26, 2023 for Windows, iOS, and Android, miHoYo's first turn-based entry in the Honkai line and its second global multi-platform release after Genshin Impact. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Platform timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2023-04-26 | Worldwide launch: Windows, iOS, Android [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2023-10-11 | PlayStation 5 version, alongside Version 1.4 [[1]](#ref-1) | | announced, delayed | A PS4 version was announced but has been indefinitely delayed [[1]](#ref-1) | As of July 2026 the game runs on PC, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5, with no Xbox version announced. Version cadence is roughly six weeks, and the version line reached 4.x in 2026 with the long-running Fate/stay night collaboration continuing into Version 4.4 (July 2026). The gacha's base rates, pity counts, and guarantee structure have not changed since launch; system-level additions have come as new banner formats rather than rate changes. Details are on the [Warps](/honkai-star-rail/wiki/warps) page. References: 1. Honkai: Star Rail (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honkai:_Star_Rail ---------------------------------------- # Warps (honkai-star-rail wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/honkai-star-rail/wiki/warps Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Honkai Star Rail's gacha in detail. Character and Light Cone Event Warp rates, 90 and 80 pity, the 50/50 and 75/25 guarantees, cross-banner pity carry-over, and the separate Fate collaboration pool. Warps are Honkai: Star Rail's gacha. A limited warp costs one Star Rail Special Pass (160 Stellar Jade). The game adopted the Genshin Impact structure with the numbers intact and one friendlier weapon-banner detail. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Banner types | Banner | Featured | 5-star base rate | Hard pity | Featured guarantee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Character Event Warp | 1 limited 5-star character | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | 50/50; loss guarantees the featured character next (worst case 180) | | Light Cone Event Warp | 1 limited 5-star light cone | 0.8% (1.87% consolidated) | 80 | 75/25; loss guarantees the featured light cone next (worst case 160) | | Stellar Warp (standard) | none, permanent pool | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | none | There is no Capturing Radiance equivalent as of July 2026, so the character banner's featured share stays a plain [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty). ## Pity behavior Hard pity is 90 warps on character banners and 80 on light cone banners; a 4-star or better is guaranteed per 10 warps. The consolidated 1.6% implies an average of 62.5 warps per 5-star character. Community measurements put a soft pity ramp near warp 74, a community-documented estimate rather than a published number. [[1]](#ref-1) Pity and guarantee state carry over between banners of the same type, including into reruns and across versions. Since the 4.x versions, reruns often group several past 5-stars into a single multi-character banner with a designated target. ## The Fate collaboration pool The game's first external collaboration (Fate/stay night, from Version 3.4 in July 2025) runs on a separate warp category with rules that differ from regular limited banners: its pity pool is shared only among collaboration warps and does not transfer to or from regular banners, the banners have no rate-up 4-stars, and the collaboration characters do not enter the standard pool afterward. [[2]](#ref-2) This is the pattern described on the [collaboration event](/wiki/collaboration-event) page; check pity isolation before saving across a collab boundary. ## Duplicates Duplicate 5-star characters become Eidolons, up to six per character, each unlocking an upgrade. Full Eidolons multiply the worst-case cost of a character by seven; the [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system) page covers the economics. References: 1. In-game Warp Details rate disclosure (Character and Light Cone Event Warp) (HoYoverse): https://hsr.hoyoverse.com/en-us/home 2. Fate/stay night collaboration warp rules (Version 3.4) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Honkai-Star-Rail/archives/462460 ---------------------------------------- # Gacha system (neverness-to-everness wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/neverness-to-everness/wiki/gacha-system Type: game-wiki | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 NTE's character banner system. This page documents what is verified so far and openly lists what still needs transcription from the in-game rate disclosure. Neverness to Everness monetizes through limited character banners in the gacha pattern, running since its Chinese launch on April 23, 2026 and global launch on April 29, 2026. [[1]](#ref-1) ## What is verified - The game launched with limited character banners and a premium pull currency. [[1]](#ref-1) - It is a Hotta Studio (Perfect World) title; systems from other open-world gachas such as [Genshin Impact's wishes](/genshin-impact/wiki/wishes) do not automatically apply here. ## What this page still needs The numbers: base top-rarity rate, pity thresholds and any soft pity, featured guarantee rules (50/50 or otherwise), spark or exchange mechanics, and per-pull currency cost, all transcribed from the in-game rules text with the version noted. If you play NTE, [transcribing that rules text](/contribute) is the most useful contribution this wiki can receive for the game. GachaWiki prints no numbers here rather than repeating unverified ones; see the [editorial policy](/editorial-policy). References: 1. Neverness to Everness (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverness_to_Everness ---------------------------------------- # Recruit system (nikke wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/nikke/wiki/recruit-system Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 NIKKE's gacha in detail. The 4% SSR rate, the 2% featured share, gold mileage that never expires, the silver mileage track, and the 20-slot wishlist that filters the standard pool. NIKKE's gacha runs on recruits: 300 Gems for a single, 3,000 for a ten-pull. Its headline 4% SSR rate is the highest among the games this wiki covers, and the design pairs that generosity with slower targeting systems worth understanding before budgeting. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates | Parameter | Value | | --- | --- | | SSR | 4% per recruit | | Featured SSR (Pick-Up banners) | 2% within the 4% | | Cost | 300 Gems per recruit | A 4% rate means an SSR every 25 pulls on average, but only half of that rate points at the banner unit, with no loss protection: the classic fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up) trade-off behind a friendly headline number. There is no escalation and no hard pity counter. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Gold mileage: the spark that keeps Every pull on Special and Pick-Up recruits grants one gold mileage ticket; 200 tickets buy the featured SSR in the mileage shop. The rule that separates NIKKE from nearly every other [spark](/wiki/spark) implementation: gold mileage never expires and carries across banners, so 120 tickets left over from one banner are 120 tickets toward the next. [[2]](#ref-2) Partial progress is never wasted, which changes saving strategy completely compared with expiring sparks like Blue Archive's or Granblue's. ## Silver mileage and the wishlist Ordinary (standard) recruits grant silver mileage instead, exchangeable for Spare Bodies (duplicates) but not new characters. The standard pool also supports a wishlist: after 40 Ordinary recruits it unlocks 20 slots, five for each manufacturer faction, and once all 20 are filled, every SSR from Ordinary recruits comes from those choices. [[2]](#ref-2) The wishlist narrows the pool without changing the rate, effectively retargeting the 4% at units you actually want. Cross-game context for all of this is in the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems). References: 1. Recruit rates (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (NIKKE community wiki): https://nikke-goddess-of-victory-international.fandom.com/wiki/Recruit 2. Wishlist and mileage shop rules (Prydwen): https://www.prydwen.gg/nikke/guides/wishlist ---------------------------------------- # Release history (nikke wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/nikke/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 NIKKE's timeline, from the simultaneous worldwide launch in November 2022 through the Windows client, the 3.5 anniversary in April 2026, and the announced fourth-anniversary update. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE launched worldwide on November 4, 2022 on iOS and Android, a simultaneous global release by Shift Up (developer) and Tencent's Level Infinite (publisher) with no regional head start. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2022-11-04 | Worldwide launch (iOS, Android) [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2023-02-15 | Windows PC client, distributed through the game's own launcher [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2026-04-23 | 3.5 anniversary update with new campaign chapters [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2026-11 (announced) | Fourth-anniversary story update | The game has no Steam release as of July 2026; PC play goes through the standalone client. Service is active in all regions, and no structural changes to the recruit system have been identified in 2026. Gacha rules are on the [Recruit system](/nikke/wiki/recruit-system) page. References: 1. Goddess of Victory: NIKKE (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goddess_of_Victory:_Nikke 2. NIKKE 3.5 anniversary update coverage (April 2026) (Siliconera): https://www.siliconera.com/goddess-of-victory-nikke-gets-pop-star-anis-and-3-5-anniversary-event-this-week/ ---------------------------------------- # Gacha system (umamusume-pretty-derby wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/umamusume-pretty-derby/wiki/gacha-system Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Umamusume's two parallel gachas in detail. Character and support card rates at 3%, Carat costs, the 200-point exchange ceiling on each track, and why support cards are the real budget. Umamusume: Pretty Derby runs two parallel gachas, and competitive play needs both: the character gacha for trainable umamusume and the support card gacha for the cards that define every training run. Pulls cost 150 Carats (called Jewels in Japan) on either track. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Rates, both tracks | Parameter | Character gacha | Support card gacha | | --- | --- | --- | | Top rarity | 3% (3-star character) | 3% (SSR card) | | Featured rate-up | typically 0.75% | typically 0.75% | | Cost per pull | 150 Carats | 150 Carats | | Exchange ceiling | 200 points | 200 points | There is no escalation and no hard pity below the ceiling; the featured share is a fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up) with no loss protection. [[1]](#ref-1) ## The 200-point exchange Each pull grants one exchange point on its own track. At 200 points, the featured 3-star character or SSR card can be exchanged outright, a ceiling of 30,000 Carats per target. Points are per banner: they expire when the banner ends (expired limited-banner points convert to Clovers, a minor shop currency). [[1]](#ref-1) The design is Cygames' own [spark](/wiki/spark) convention at two-thirds the original 300-draw price; the lineage runs through [Granblue Fantasy](/granblue-fantasy/wiki/cerulean-sparks). ## Why support cards are the real budget The dual-track structure roughly doubles the spending surface, and the deeper sink is on the card side: support cards scale steeply with limit breaks, which consume duplicate copies, up to four per card. A single copy of a strong SSR card is a fraction of its potential; a fully limit-broken one can require five copies, or 1,000 pulls through the ceiling in the worst case. Characters, by contrast, are competitive at one copy. Budget accordingly, and see [dupe system](/wiki/dupe-system) for how this pattern compares across games. References: 1. Gacha rates and exchange point rules (secondary documentation of in-game disclosure) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Umamusume-Pretty-Derby/archives/538219 ---------------------------------------- # Release history (umamusume-pretty-derby wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/umamusume-pretty-derby/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Umamusume's timeline, from the delayed but dominant February 2021 Japanese launch through the June 2025 global release on mobile and Steam and the global first anniversary in 2026. Umamusume: Pretty Derby was announced by Cygames in 2016 and launched in Japan on February 24, 2021 after long delays. The wait did not hurt: it became one of Japan's highest-grossing mobile games of the early 2020s. [[2]](#ref-2) ## Timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2021-02-24 | Japan launch (iOS, Android) [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2021-03-10 | Windows version via DMM Game Player [[2]](#ref-2) | | regional | Korea (Kakao Games), Taiwan (Komoe), China (Bilibili) versions follow [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2025-06-26 | Global English release on iOS, Android, and Steam, self-published by Cygames [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2026-06-25 | Global main story finale releases; first global anniversary the next day | As of July 2026 the Japanese and global services are both active. The global release was notable for shipping on Steam day one and for Cygames publishing it directly rather than through a regional partner. [[1]](#ref-1) Gacha rules are on the [Gacha system](/umamusume-pretty-derby/wiki/gacha-system) page. References: 1. Cygames announces global release of Umamusume Pretty Derby on June 26, 2025 (Cygames): https://www.cygames.co.jp/en/news/id-24452 2. Umamusume: Pretty Derby (release history) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umamusume:_Pretty_Derby ---------------------------------------- # Convenes (wuthering-waves wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/wuthering-waves/wiki/convenes Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Wuthering Waves' gacha in detail. 0.8% base rate with 80 pity, the 50/50 on Resonators, the weapon banner's full guarantee with no coin flip, and the collab convenes with separate currency and pity. Convenes are Wuthering Waves' gacha. Limited character pulls use Radiant Tides, weapon pulls Forging Tides, and standard pulls Lustrous Tides, each worth 160 Astrite. Kuro Games tuned the HoYoverse formula in the player's favor at two visible points: a shorter pity and a weapon banner with no coin flip. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Banner types | Banner | Featured | 5-star base rate | Hard pity | Featured guarantee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Featured Resonator Convene | 1 limited 5-star Resonator | 0.8% (1.8% average with guarantee) | 80 | 50/50; loss guarantees the featured Resonator next (worst case 160) | | Featured Weapon Convene | 1 limited 5-star weapon | 0.8% | 80 | every 5-star is the featured weapon (worst case 80) | | Standard character and weapon convenes | permanent pools | 0.8% | 80 | selectable via separate systems | The weapon banner deserves the emphasis: there is no 50/50, no fate points, and no loss state. Any 5-star result is the featured weapon, so 80 convenes is a hard ceiling. Among major games only this banner offers a full guarantee at the base pity count; the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) shows how unusual that is. ## Pity behavior Hard pity is 80 across banners, with a 4-star or better guaranteed per 10 convenes. Community measurements put the soft pity ramp near convene 66, earlier than the HoYoverse games' 74; Kuro does not publish soft pity values, so treat 66 as a community-documented estimate. Pity carries between banners of the same type. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Collaboration convenes The Cyberpunk: Edgerunners collaboration (Version 3.4, June 8 to July 9, 2026) introduced a third pattern: the collab character pulled on a dedicated convene with its own currency (Dreamcatcher Tides) and its own pity pool, isolated from regular banners, while a second collab character was given free. Treat collab convenes as a separate wallet; progress does not transfer out when the event ends. See [collaboration event](/wiki/collaboration-event). ## Starpath Reverbs Version 3.5 (July 10, 2026) adds Starpath Reverbs, a rerun format collecting six first-year 5-star Resonators and their signature weapons behind a designated-target guarantee, the same consolidation trend as Genshin Impact's Chronicled and Lightrace Wishes. References: 1. In-game Convene Details rate disclosure (Featured Resonator and Featured Weapon Convene) (Kuro Games): https://wutheringwaves.kurogames.com/en/main ---------------------------------------- # Release history (wuthering-waves wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/wuthering-waves/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Wuthering Waves' platform timeline, from the May 2024 launch through PS5, macOS, Steam, and the July 10, 2026 Xbox release with Game Pass, plus the Tencent majority stake. Wuthering Waves launched on May 22, 2024 for Windows (via Kuro's own launcher), iOS, and Android, and has expanded to a new platform roughly every six months since. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Platform timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2024-05-22 | Worldwide launch: Windows, iOS, Android [[1]](#ref-1) | | late 2024 | Tencent acquires a majority stake in Kuro Games; the studio continues to operate independently [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-01-02 | PlayStation 5 version, alongside Version 2.0 [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-03 | macOS version [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-04-28 | Steam release [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2026-07-10 | Xbox Series X and S, Xbox on PC, and Xbox Cloud, with Version 3.5 and Game Pass perks; full cross-progression [[2]](#ref-2) | As of July 2026 the game is in active service everywhere it has shipped, and the Xbox launch completes coverage of every major platform. Base rates, pity, and the weapon banner's full guarantee in [Convenes](/wuthering-waves/wiki/convenes) are unchanged since launch. References: 1. Wuthering Waves (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wuthering_Waves 2. Wuthering Waves comes to Xbox on July 10, 2026 (Xbox Wire (Microsoft)): https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2026/04/07/wuthering-waves-xbox/ ---------------------------------------- # Release history (zenless-zone-zero wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/zenless-zone-zero/wiki/release-history Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Zenless Zone Zero's platform timeline, from the July 2024 launch through the June 2025 Xbox and Game Pass release, physical editions, and the version numbering skip to 3.0 in June 2026. Zenless Zone Zero launched on July 4, 2024 for Windows, iOS, Android, and PlayStation 5, the first HoYoverse title to include a PlayStation version on day one. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Platform timeline | Date | Event | | --- | --- | | 2024-07-04 | Worldwide launch: Windows, iOS, Android, PS5 [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2025-06-06 | Xbox Series X and S version with Version 2.0, including Game Pass [[2]](#ref-2) | | 2026-03-24 | Physical collector's editions for PS5 and Xbox, with Version 2.7 [[1]](#ref-1) | | 2026-06-17 | Version 3.0; the numbering skipped 2.9 [[1]](#ref-1) | As of July 2026 the game is in active service on PC, iOS, Android, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. Base rates, pity counts, and guarantees in [Signal Search](/zenless-zone-zero/wiki/signal-search) are unchanged since launch. References: 1. Zenless Zone Zero (release and platform chronology) (Wikipedia): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zenless_Zone_Zero 2. Zenless Zone Zero Version 2.0 and Xbox release announcement (HoYoverse): https://zenless.hoyoverse.com/en-us/news/124378 ---------------------------------------- # Signal Search (zenless-zone-zero wiki) URL: https://gachawiki.com/zenless-zone-zero/wiki/signal-search Type: game-wiki | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Zenless Zone Zero's gacha in detail. Exclusive and W-Engine Channel rates, 90 and 80 pity, the 50/50 and 75/25 guarantees, and the free Bangboo Channel that pulls companions without premium currency. Signal Search is Zenless Zone Zero's gacha. Limited pulls use Encrypted Master Tapes (160 Polychrome each); the standard channel uses plain Master Tapes at the same price. The structure is the HoYoverse standard with one genuinely unusual addition. [[1]](#ref-1) ## Channels | Channel | Featured | S-rank base rate | Hard pity | Featured guarantee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Exclusive Channel | 1 limited S-rank Agent | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | 50/50; loss guarantees the featured Agent next (worst case 180) | | W-Engine Channel | 1 limited S-rank W-Engine | 1.0% (2.0% consolidated) | 80 | 75/25; loss guarantees the featured W-Engine next (worst case 160) | | Standard Channel | none, permanent pool | 0.6% (1.6% consolidated) | 90 | none | | Bangboo Channel | player-selected Bangboo | 1.0% | 80 | selection, not chance | Pity carries between banners of the same channel type. Community measurements put a soft pity ramp near pull 75 on the Exclusive Channel; HoYoverse does not publish soft pity values, so that number is a community-documented estimate. There is no Capturing Radiance equivalent as of July 2026. ## The Bangboo Channel The Bangboo Channel is the unusual part: it pulls the game's companion units using Boopons, a currency earned in play and not sold for real money. It has a 1% S-rank rate, an 80-pull guarantee, and lets the player choose which Bangboo the guarantee targets. [[1]](#ref-1) A gacha wheel with no cash input is rare in the genre and worth knowing about when comparing monetization designs. ## W-Engine notes The W-Engine Channel's 1.0% base rate is the highest equipment rate among the HoYoverse games (Genshin Impact's weapon banner is 0.7%, Star Rail's light cone banner 0.8%), and the 75/25 with loss protection caps a featured W-Engine at 160 pulls. [[1]](#ref-1) Cross-game numbers live in the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems). References: 1. In-game Signal Search Details rate disclosure (Exclusive and W-Engine Channel) (HoYoverse): https://zenless.hoyoverse.com/en-us/main ---------------------------------------- # 50/50 URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/fifty-fifty Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The HoYoverse-style featured guarantee, where each top-rarity pull has a 50% chance of being the featured character and a loss guarantees the next one. Winning or losing the 50/50 is core gacha vocabulary. The 50/50 is the featured-character guarantee structure popularized by [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) and now standard across HoYoverse games and their competitors. When a player pulls a top-rarity character without an active guarantee, there is a 50% chance it is the banner's featured character. If it is not (the player "loses the 50/50" and gets an off-banner character from the standard pool), the next top-rarity result is guaranteed to be the featured one. [[1]](#ref-1) Combined with hard [pity](/wiki/pity-system) at 90, the structure gives a clean worst case: 180 pulls always secures the featured character. This bounded arithmetic, more than the base rate, is what players budget around, and phrases like "I'm guaranteed" (a banked 50/50 loss) are core community vocabulary. Variations on the coin flip: - Genshin Impact's Capturing Radiance (Version 5.0, August 2024) softens losses: HoYoverse publishes a 55% consolidated featured share, with an automatic conversion after three consecutive losses. [[2]](#ref-2) - Weapon banners typically run 75/25 with the same loss-guarantee structure ([Honkai: Star Rail](/wiki/honkai-star-rail), [Zenless Zone Zero](/wiki/zenless-zone-zero)). - [Wuthering Waves](/wiki/wuthering-waves) removes the flip entirely on its weapon banner: every 5-star there is the featured weapon. - Older designs like [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order) have no flip and no loss protection at all; the featured share is just a fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up). Whether a lost 50/50 still feels worthwhile depends on the standard pool's quality, which is one reason standard-pool [powercreep](/wiki/powercreep) is watched closely by players. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. Capturing Radiance mechanic FAQ (Version 5.0) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/news/detail/125274 ---------------------------------------- # Banner URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/banner Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 A time-limited gacha pool featuring specific characters or items at boosted rates. Banners are the release calendar of a gacha game, and their scheduling drives both revenue and player saving behavior. A banner is a gacha pool with its own probability table, item list, and usually a start and end date. When players talk about a game's content schedule, they are mostly talking about its banner schedule: which characters are featured, for how long, and when they might [rerun](/wiki/rerun). A typical modern lineup, using [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) as the reference: [[1]](#ref-1) - Limited character banner: one or two featured top-rarity characters on [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up), rotating every two to three weeks. The main revenue driver. - Weapon or equipment banner: featured gear, usually with weaker guarantees. - Standard banner: a permanent pool of older items, pulled mostly with earned currency. New limited characters usually never enter it. - Special formats: curated rerun pools, [collaboration banners](/wiki/collaboration-event) with separate pity, beginner banners with discounts. Two banner properties determine real cost more than the headline rate does. First, whether [pity](/wiki/pity-system) carries between banners: in HoYoverse games it does, in Fate/Grand Order it resets. Second, exclusivity: a "limited" character who reruns twice a year is a different proposition from one who may not return for two years, and games publish little about future schedules, which is why banner planning is a core player skill. The word itself comes from the literal advertising banner graphic that announces the pool in-game. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home ---------------------------------------- # Collaboration event URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/collaboration-event Type: term | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 A limited crossover with an external franchise, typically with its own banner, separate pity pool, and characters that never return to the regular pool, such as Star Rail's Fate/stay night collab. A collaboration event (collab) is a limited crossover in which characters or items from an external franchise appear in a gacha game. Collabs are marketing spikes for both sides, and mechanically they tend to come with special rules that this wiki tracks because they trip up cost planning. The recurring pattern: collab characters run on a separate [banner](/wiki/banner) category whose [pity](/wiki/pity-system) pool is isolated from regular banners. Progress built on a collab banner does not transfer out when the event ends, and vice versa. Honkai: Star Rail's Fate/stay night collaboration (from Version 3.4, July 2025) works this way, [[1]](#ref-1) and Wuthering Waves' Cyberpunk: Edgerunners collab (June 2026) even used a dedicated pull currency. The second recurring rule is permanence: collab characters usually never enter the standard pool and rerun rarely or never, since reruns require re-licensing the IP. Communities treat collabs as now-or-never pulls for that reason, and older games carry folklore about missed collab units that never returned. Historically, license-heavy games built entire calendars on collabs; the model runs from early Japanese social games through modern examples across the genre. For players the practical checklist is stable: confirm whether the pity pool is shared, whether the currency is separate, and whether any unit is given free during the event. References: 1. Honkai: Star Rail Fate/stay night collaboration warp details (Version 3.4) (Game8): https://game8.co/games/Honkai-Star-Rail/archives/462460 ---------------------------------------- # Dupe system URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/dupe-system Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The mechanics that give duplicate gacha pulls value, such as Genshin Impact's Constellations or Star Rail's Eidolons, where up to six copies unlock upgrades. Dupe systems multiply the ceiling on per-character spending. A dupe system gives duplicate copies of a character mechanical value instead of letting them be dead pulls. In [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) duplicates become Constellations, in [Honkai: Star Rail](/wiki/honkai-star-rail) Eidolons, in many Japanese games "limit breaks": each additional copy, usually up to six, unlocks a stat boost or ability upgrade. [[1]](#ref-1) The design has a quiet economic function: it multiplies the ceiling on what one player can spend on one banner. Fully upgrading a character in a 90-pity, 50/50 game means securing up to seven copies, a worst case of 1,260 pulls, versus 180 for a single copy. Dupe systems are therefore the main lever behind [whale](/wiki/whale)-tier spending, and balance debates often center on how much power is locked behind them. Design variation is wide. Support-card games like [Umamusume: Pretty Derby](/wiki/umamusume-pretty-derby) make limit breaks nearly mandatory for competitiveness, because card effects scale steeply with copies. Games like [Blue Archive](/wiki/blue-archive) soften the pressure by letting spark exchanges and farmable shards substitute for pulled duplicates. Where a game sits on that spectrum is one of the better predictors of its long-term cost profile, independent of its headline rates. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game character details (Constellation system) (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home ---------------------------------------- # End of service URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/end-of-service Type: term | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The shutdown of a live-service game, after which a gacha collection typically ceases to exist. EoS risk is the structural counterparty risk of spending in gacha games, and offline modes remain rare. End of service (EoS) is the permanent shutdown of a live-service game. For gacha games it carries a consequence unusual among consumer products: everything acquired through the [gacha](/wiki/gacha), including items bought with real money, typically ceases to exist when the servers close. Terms of service uniformly frame purchases as licenses to access content during service, not property. EoS risk is therefore the structural counterparty risk of the genre. It shapes rational spending (heavier investment in games with proven longevity), and it is why announcements about revenue health and anniversary milestones get read as actuarial signals. The typical wind-down sequence is consistent across the industry: a shutdown announcement, immediate suspension of real-money currency sales, a final content period, refunds for unspent paid currency where law requires it, and server closure a few months later. Mitigations exist but are rare. A few games have shipped offline modes at shutdown, and some publishers migrate characters into sequels. Region-specific EoS also happens for regulatory reasons: Nintendo withdrew its gacha titles from Belgium in 2019 rather than operate under the country's loot box ruling. [[1]](#ref-1) GachaWiki records EoS status in each game's infobox, and pages for closed games are kept as historical documentation rather than deleted. References: 1. Nintendo removing Animal Crossing and Fire Emblem mobile games from Belgium over loot box laws (GameSpot): https://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-removing-animal-crossing-fire-emblem-mobi/1100-6467055/ ---------------------------------------- # Free-to-play URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/free-to-play Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The distribution model of nearly all gacha games, where the client costs nothing and revenue comes from optional purchases. F2P also names the player identity of spending nothing and budgeting earned currency. Free-to-play (F2P) is the distribution model of nearly every gacha game: the client is free, all content is nominally reachable without paying, and revenue comes from optional purchases, overwhelmingly [premium currency](/wiki/premium-currency) for pulls. The model's scale is why the genre exists at all; a single F2P title can gross billions from a minority of paying players. [[1]](#ref-1) In gacha communities the term does double duty as a player identity. "Playing F2P" means spending nothing and treating the earned-currency budget as the whole game: tracking login rewards, event payouts, and achievement gems, then planning pulls around [pity](/wiki/pity-system) math and banner schedules. Whether a game is "F2P friendly" is one of the most common evaluation questions players ask, and it usually decomposes into measurable parts: monthly earned-pull income, pity carry-over, spark accessibility, and how much power sits in [dupes](/wiki/dupe-system). "F2P" and "low-spender" content is a large category of gacha media precisely because the math is tractable: with published rates and a known income rate, the expected wait for any character is computable. The [pull probability article](/wiki/gacha-probability) covers the arithmetic. References: 1. Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year (Sensor Tower): https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue ---------------------------------------- # Gacha URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gacha Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The monetization mechanic in which players spend currency on randomized draws for characters or items, named after Japanese gashapon capsule-toy machines. The defining system of the gacha game genre. Gacha is the monetization mechanic in which players spend currency, earned in play or bought with real money, on randomized draws from a pool of characters, weapons, or items. The word is onomatopoeic Japanese for the crank-and-drop sound of a [gashapon](/wiki/gashapon) capsule-toy machine, the physical ancestor of the mechanic. [[1]](#ref-1) A gacha draw is defined by three things: a priced pull (one draw usually costs a fixed amount of [premium currency](/wiki/premium-currency)), a disclosed or undisclosed probability table over rarities, and a pool that changes over time through [banners](/wiki/banner). Nearly everything else in gacha design, [pity systems](/wiki/pity-system), [sparks](/wiki/spark), [rate-ups](/wiki/rate-up), guarantees, is a modifier layered onto that core loop. The mechanic became the dominant business model of Japanese mobile games around 2010 to 2012, when social platforms GREE and Mobage built their record revenues on it. [[2]](#ref-2) A variant called [kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha) was banned in Japan in 2012, the first major regulatory intervention in the genre. Gacha differs from Western "loot boxes" mainly in emphasis rather than mechanics: gacha pools are usually character-driven, banner-scheduled, and central to progression, while loot boxes have more often been cosmetic sidelines in premium games. Regulators generally treat the two as the same category; see [gacha regulation](/wiki/gacha-regulation). References: 1. The elderly man who invented Japan's capsule toys (Nippon.com): https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01212/ 2. Why "kompu gacha" was banned (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/why-quot-kompu-gacha-quot-was-banned ---------------------------------------- # Gacha game URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gacha-game Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 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. 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. The 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) Common 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). The 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. References: 1. Puzzle & Dragons is the first mobile game to $1 billion in revenue (PocketGamer.biz): https://www.pocketgamer.biz/its-official-puzzle-and-dragons-is-the-first-mobile-game-to-1-billion-in-revenue/ 2. Genshin Impact generates $2 billion on mobile in first year (Sensor Tower): https://sensortower.com/blog/genshin-impact-mobile-two-billion-revenue ---------------------------------------- # Gashapon URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/gashapon Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Japanese capsule-toy vending machines, introduced in 1965 by Penny Shokai and commercialized at scale by Bandai from 1977. The physical origin of the word and concept behind digital gacha. Gashapon are Japanese capsule-toy vending machines: insert coins, turn the crank, and a random toy inside a plastic capsule drops out. The name is onomatopoeia, "gasha" for the crank and "pon" for the capsule landing. "Gashapon" is a registered trademark of Bandai; "gacha-gacha" and "gacha" are the generic terms, and the last of these became the name of the [digital mechanic](/wiki/gacha). [[2]](#ref-2) The machines derive from American bulk-vending machines. Ryuzo Shigeta, founder of Penny Shokai in Tokyo's Taito ward, set up Japan's first capsule-toy machine on February 17, 1965, adding capsules to protect the prizes, and sold turns for 10 yen. [[1]](#ref-1) Bandai entered the market in 1977, selling character-licensed capsules at 100 yen when rivals charged around 20, and built capsule toys into a durable national industry. [[1]](#ref-1) [[2]](#ref-2) Two properties of the physical machines carried directly into digital gacha: the fixed price per random draw, and collection-driven demand, since toys shipped in themed sets that invited completion. The set-completion impulse later produced the [kompu gacha](/wiki/kompu-gacha) mechanic, whose 2012 ban is the genre's first major regulatory event. References: 1. The elderly man who invented Japan's capsule toys (Nippon.com): https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g01212/ 2. About Gashapon (Bandai): https://us.gashapon.jp/about/ ---------------------------------------- # Kompu gacha URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/kompu-gacha Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The banned "complete gacha" mechanic, where collecting a full set of random items yielded a rare prize. Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency ruled it illegal in May 2012, the genre's first major regulatory intervention. Kompu gacha ("complete gacha") was a two-layer mechanic in early Japanese social games: players paid for randomized draws, and completing a specified set of items from those draws granted a rarer grand prize. The completion layer made the odds brutal in a way single draws are not; the last missing piece of an N-item set follows collector-math that most players cannot intuit, and spending on chasing completions became a national controversy in Japan in early 2012. [[2]](#ref-2) On May 18, 2012, Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency announced that kompu gacha falls under the prohibited "card matching" (kaado awase) method in the operational standards of the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations, with the revised standards applying from July 1, 2012. [[1]](#ref-1) The ruling was an administrative interpretation of a 1962 consumer-protection law, not gambling legislation and not a new statute. Base single-draw gacha remained, and remains, legal in Japan. The industry moved before the deadline: the six major platform operators, including GREE and DeNA, announced in early May 2012 that all kompu gacha would be removed by the end of that month, and share prices of both companies fell over 20% while regulation reports circulated. [[3]](#ref-3) [[2]](#ref-2) The industry body JOGA issued gacha operation guidelines that September, beginning Japan's self-regulation framework of rate display and spending-estimate caps; see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure). Kompu gacha remains the reference case for how the genre gets regulated in practice: an existing consumer-protection law applied to a specific mechanic, followed by fast industry self-regulation to head off broader legislation. The pattern repeated in later disputes; see [gacha regulation by country](/wiki/gacha-regulation). References: 1. Operational standards on premium offers under the Act against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representations (May 18, 2012 revision) (Consumer Affairs Agency (Japan)): https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/representation/fair_labeling/guideline/pdf/120518premiums_1.pdf 2. Why "kompu gacha" was banned (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/why-quot-kompu-gacha-quot-was-banned 3. Kompu gacha timeline and platform response (Serkan Toto (Kantan Games)): https://www.serkantoto.com/2012/05/09/kompu-gacha-dena-gree-history/ ---------------------------------------- # Loot box URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/loot-box Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The general term regulators use for purchasable randomized rewards in games. Gacha is legally a loot box mechanic in every jurisdiction that has ruled on it, which is why loot box law is gacha law. Loot box is the umbrella term, used by regulators and researchers, for any purchasable in-game container or draw whose contents are randomized. The Belgian Gaming Commission's 2018 report, the study that shaped European policy, defined the category broadly enough to cover card packs, prize crates, and character banners alike. [[1]](#ref-1) [Gacha](/wiki/gacha) is a loot box mechanic under every regulatory framework that has examined it. The distinction players draw between the two is cultural and structural (gacha pools are character-driven, banner-scheduled, and central to progression, while Western loot boxes have more often been cosmetic add-ons), but no jurisdiction distinguishes them legally. When Belgium ruled paid loot boxes to be games of chance, gacha games withdrew from the country alongside FIFA packs; when the US FTC acted on loot box marketing in 2025, the target was a gacha game. [[1]](#ref-1) [[3]](#ref-3) The word matters mostly for research: the legal, academic, and policy literature indexes under "loot box", not "gacha". The UK's call for evidence, the largest English-language policy review of the mechanic, uses the term throughout while explicitly covering randomized character acquisition. [[2]](#ref-2) For the jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction picture, see [gacha regulation by country](/wiki/gacha-regulation). For the disclosure rules that loot box laws increasingly require, see [rate disclosure](/wiki/rate-disclosure). References: 1. Research report on loot boxes (April 2018) (Belgian Gaming Commission): https://www.gamingcommission.be/sites/default/files/2021-08/onderzoeksrapport-loot-boxen-Engels-publicatie.pdf 2. Government response to the call for evidence on loot boxes (July 2022) (UK Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport): https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/loot-boxes-in-video-games-call-for-evidence 3. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer (January 17, 2025) (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental ---------------------------------------- # Off-banner URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/off-banner Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 A top-rarity gacha result that is not the banner's featured item, known as a spook in Fate/Grand Order communities. Whether off-banner results grant protection is a defining difference between gacha systems. An off-banner result is a top-rarity pull that is not the banner's featured item: the 5-star from the standard pool when you wanted the event character. Fate/Grand Order communities call it a spook, and the word has spread across the genre. What happens after an off-banner result is one of the sharpest dividing lines between gacha designs: - In [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) systems (Genshin Impact and its successors), an off-banner 5-star is also a state change: it arms the guarantee, so the next 5-star is the featured character. The loss has value. [[1]](#ref-1) - In fractional [rate-up](/wiki/rate-up) systems (Fate/Grand Order, Blue Archive, NIKKE, Granblue Fantasy), an off-banner result changes nothing. The featured odds on the next pull are identical, and only a [spark](/wiki/spark) ceiling, where one exists, moves closer. [[2]](#ref-2) The distinction drives real cost differences that headline rates hide. Two games with similar top-rarity rates can have very different featured-item costs depending on whether off-banner results carry protection; the [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) tracks the guarantee column for exactly this reason. Off-banner results are not always losses in the larger sense: standard-pool characters obtained this way are often strong, and in games with [dupe systems](/wiki/dupe-system) a spook can be a copy of something worth upgrading. The term describes intent, not value. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. Summoning rates (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Fate/Grand Order community wiki): https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Summoning ---------------------------------------- # Pity system URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/pity-system Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 Any mechanic that bounds bad luck in gacha draws, from hard guarantees at a fixed pull count (Genshin Impact's 90) to escalating rates (Arknights) and hidden soft pity ramps documented by players. A pity system is any mechanic that bounds how unlucky a gacha player can get. Without one, a low base rate has a long tail: at 0.6% per pull, about 1 player in 200 would see nothing in 500 pulls. Pity systems exist to cut off that tail, and their design details drive most cross-game cost comparisons. ## Forms Hard pity guarantees a top-rarity result at a fixed count. [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact) and [Honkai: Star Rail](/wiki/honkai-star-rail) guarantee a 5-star within 90 pulls on character banners, which is why both publish a "consolidated" rate of 1.6% alongside the 0.6% base rate. [[1]](#ref-1) Soft pity raises the rate before the hard wall. In HoYoverse games the ramp is real but unpublished: community statistical projects consistently measure a sharp increase from roughly pull 74, and those figures are community-documented estimates, not official numbers. [Arknights](/wiki/arknights) instead publishes its escalation openly: the 2% rate rises by 2 percentage points per pull after 50 pulls without a 6-star, reaching 100% by pull 99. [[2]](#ref-2) Exchange ceilings guarantee a chosen item after a fixed number of pulls; that family has its own name, the [spark](/wiki/spark). ## Carry-over Whether the counter survives the end of a banner matters as much as its size. HoYoverse pity carries across banners of the same type indefinitely. Fate/Grand Order's 330-roll guarantee resets when a banner ends. Most sparks expire with their banner; NIKKE's mileage is a notable exception. The [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) tracks carry-over per game. The industry shifted decisively toward pity in the 2020s: [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order) operated with no safety net from 2015 until January 2022, a design that would be commercially unusual to launch today. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. Arknights in-game Headhunting rules text (Yostar / Hypergryph): https://www.arknights.global ---------------------------------------- # Powercreep URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/powercreep Type: term | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The gradual outclassing of older characters by newer releases, an economic force in gacha games where revenue depends on making new banners desirable without invalidating past spending too fast. Powercreep is the gradual outclassing of older characters by newer ones. Some drift is inherent to any live game that sells new units, but in gacha games it is a load-bearing economic force: each [banner](/wiki/banner) must be desirable enough to pull on, and raw power is the most legible form of desirability. [[1]](#ref-1) The tension is between two failure modes. Creep too fast and past spending feels invalidated, which is the most common trigger for player-base revolts and refund pressure. Creep too slow and veterans stop pulling, since their existing roster clears everything. Games manage the middle with tools other than raw stats: new enemy mechanics that favor new kits, endgame modes rotated to spotlight recent releases, and buffs or new gear for older characters. Powercreep interacts with every other economic mechanic on this wiki. It determines whether losing a [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty) to an old standard-pool character is a consolation or a blank, how risky it is to skip a banner and wait for a [rerun](/wiki/rerun), and how much of a [dupe system's](/wiki/dupe-system) value survives a year. Communities measure it constantly, though any specific "tier" judgment is opinion rather than fact, which is why GachaWiki documents the mechanics and leaves rankings to community sites; see the [editorial policy](/editorial-policy). References: 1. Why "kompu gacha" was banned (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/why-quot-kompu-gacha-quot-was-banned ---------------------------------------- # Premium currency URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/premium-currency Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The purchasable currency that buys gacha pulls, such as Primogems, Stellar Jade, or Saint Quartz, usually also earnable in play at a slower rate, and priced so one limited pull costs a consistent amount per game. Premium currency is the in-game currency that buys [gacha](/wiki/gacha) pulls. Almost every gacha game runs the same dual-sourcing design: the currency can be bought with real money in tiered bundles, and it also drips from play through dailies, events, achievements, and new content. The earned stream keeps [free-to-play](/wiki/free-to-play) players pulling; the purchased stream is the business. Reference costs per limited pull in major games, from their in-game shops: 160 Primogems in [Genshin Impact](/wiki/genshin-impact), 160 Stellar Jade in [Honkai: Star Rail](/wiki/honkai-star-rail), 160 Astrite in [Wuthering Waves](/wiki/wuthering-waves), 3 Saint Quartz in [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order), 600 Orundum in [Arknights](/wiki/arknights), 120 Pyroxene in [Blue Archive](/wiki/blue-archive), 300 Crystals in [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy). [[1]](#ref-1) The absolute numbers are arbitrary; what matters is the real-money exchange rate and the earned income rate, which GachaWiki does not publish as a comparison because bundle pricing varies by region, promotion, and first-purchase bonuses. Layered currencies are a documented consumer-protection concern: real money converts to premium currency, which converts to pull tickets, and the multi-step conversion obscures the cash price of a draw. The US FTC's January 2025 settlement over Genshin Impact required, among other things, clearer virtual-currency exchange disclosure and a direct real-money purchase option for loot boxes in the United States. [[2]](#ref-2) The EU consumer-protection network published similar "in-game virtual currency" principles in March 2025; see [gacha regulation](/wiki/gacha-regulation). References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game shop and Wish Details (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home 2. FTC settlement with Genshin Impact developer over loot box and virtual currency practices (US Federal Trade Commission): https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/genshin-impact-game-developer-will-be-banned-selling-lootboxes-teens-under-16-without-parental ---------------------------------------- # Rate disclosure URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/rate-disclosure Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The publication of gacha draw probabilities, required by law in China since 2017 and South Korea since 2024, mandated by platform rules elsewhere, and pioneered voluntarily by Granblue Fantasy in 2016. Rate disclosure is the publication of a gacha's draw probabilities: the per-rarity rates, featured-item shares, and guarantee rules that appear in a pull screen's "Details" text. Every number on this wiki's [comparison table](/compare/pity-systems) exists because some form of disclosure made it checkable. Disclosure arrived through three channels: 1. Voluntary and reputational. [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy) began publishing per-item rates in March 2016 after the Anchira incident, ahead of any requirement. Japan's industry body CESA adopted disclosure guidelines for member companies the following month, building on JOGA's 2012 rules. [[3]](#ref-3) Japan's framework remains self-regulation, not law. 2. Law. China's Ministry of Culture notice of December 2016, effective May 1, 2017, made China the first country to mandate loot box odds disclosure, including draw-record keeping. [[1]](#ref-1) South Korea followed with binding disclosure duties under the amended Game Industry Promotion Act, effective March 22, 2024, backed by corrective orders and criminal penalties. [[2]](#ref-2) 3. Platform rules. Apple's App Store has required published odds for paid random draws since 2017, and Google Play has an equivalent rule, which is why even games in unregulated markets disclose base rates. Disclosure has known limits. Published tables cover base rates but often omit dynamics: soft pity ramps are usually undisclosed (HoYoverse's are community-measured), and "consolidated" averages can be published without the underlying formula. Verification of compliance is also hard from outside, which is why South Korea's regime added enforcement teeth after auditing hundreds of non-compliant games in its first months. [[2]](#ref-2) References: 1. China's loot box probability disclosure regulation (2016 Notice, effective May 2017) (Game Developer): https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/online-games-will-be-required-to-disclose-random-loot-box-odds-in-china 2. Mandatory loot box probability disclosure under Korea's Game Industry Promotion Act (effective March 22, 2024) (Kim & Chang): https://www.kimchang.com/en/insights/detail.kc?sch_section=4&idx=29487 3. CESA guidelines for random-item provision in network games (April 2016) (Computer Entertainment Supplier's Association (Japan)): https://www.cesa.or.jp/action/for-stakeholders/provide-items/ ---------------------------------------- # Rate-up URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/rate-up Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 The boosted probability given to featured items on a banner. A rate-up rarely changes the overall top-rarity rate; it redirects a share of it toward the featured character, such as 0.7% of Fate/Grand Order's 1%. A rate-up is the boosted probability a [banner](/wiki/banner) assigns to its featured items. The detail that matters, and that players routinely misread: a rate-up almost never raises the overall top-rarity rate. It reallocates a slice of the existing rate to the featured item. Examples from published disclosures: in [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order), the SSR rate stays 1% on a rate-up banner, with roughly 0.7 points of it assigned to the featured servant. [[1]](#ref-1) In [NIKKE](/wiki/nikke), the SSR rate stays 4%, with 2 points on the featured unit. [[2]](#ref-2) Pulling on a rate-up banner therefore changes what you are likely to get, not how often you get something good. HoYoverse games implement rate-up differently, through the [50/50](/wiki/fifty-fifty): each top-rarity result flips between the featured character and the standard pool, with loss protection. The effect is a featured share of 50% or better per 5-star, far above the fractional rate-ups of older designs, which is part of why the 50/50 pattern spread. "Off-rate" or "spook" describes the complement: pulling a top-rarity item that is not the featured one. In games without loss protection, a spook can consume a long streak of luck without advancing the player's actual goal, which is the main argument players make for [spark](/wiki/spark) ceilings. References: 1. Summoning rates (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (Fate/Grand Order community wiki): https://fategrandorder.fandom.com/wiki/Summoning 2. Recruit rates (community documentation of in-game disclosure) (NIKKE community wiki): https://nikke-goddess-of-victory-international.fandom.com/wiki/Recruit ---------------------------------------- # Rerun URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/rerun Type: term | Verification: partial (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 A repeat appearance of a previously featured limited banner. Rerun cadence determines how risky it is to skip a character, and modern games increasingly formalize reruns into curated multi-character pools. A rerun is a repeat appearance of a previously featured limited [banner](/wiki/banner). Because limited characters usually cannot be obtained between appearances, rerun cadence is the practical answer to "can I skip this and get it later", and it varies enormously: some Genshin Impact characters have rerun within four months, others have waited well over a year, and games publish no forward schedule. Rerun behavior interacts with [pity](/wiki/pity-system) rules. In HoYoverse games pity carries into a rerun, so progress banked on one appearance keeps its value. In per-banner systems like Fate/Grand Order's 330-roll guarantee, a rerun restarts the counter from zero, which changes saving strategy completely. The 2025 to 2026 trend is formalizing reruns into curated pools instead of one-at-a-time repeats: Genshin Impact's Chronicled Wish and its Lightrace Wish (July 2026), Honkai: Star Rail's multi-character rerun banners, and Wuthering Waves' Starpath Reverbs (July 2026) each collect several older characters behind a designated-target guarantee. [[1]](#ref-1) The format trades spotlight focus for choice, and it partially answers the genre's oldest complaint about missed characters becoming unobtainable for unpredictable stretches. References: 1. Genshin Impact in-game Wish Details rate disclosure (HoYoverse): https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/home ---------------------------------------- # Spark URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/spark Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 An exchange ceiling in gacha games, where every pull earns a token and a fixed number of tokens (300 in Granblue Fantasy, 200 in many later games) buys the featured item outright. Named after Granblue's cerulean sparks. A spark is an exchange ceiling: every pull on a banner grants one token, and a fixed number of tokens can be exchanged for an item of the player's choice from the banner's list, usually including the featured character. Unlike probabilistic [pity](/wiki/pity-system), a spark is deterministic. It converts "you will probably get it eventually" into "you will get it at N pulls, at the latest". The name comes from [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy)'s cerulean sparks, introduced on March 10, 2016 after the Anchira incident, in which a player documented spending about 700,000 yen in a day chasing a rate-up character with no safety net. [[2]](#ref-2) Cygames set the exchange at 300 draws, about 90,000 yen if fully paid, and the number stuck: "to spark" a character means to bank 300 pulls for them. [[1]](#ref-1) Japanese players call the same mechanic tenjou, "ceiling". Later games tuned the number down and varied persistence: | Game | Spark cost | Carries between banners? | | --- | --- | --- | | [Granblue Fantasy](/wiki/granblue-fantasy) | 300 draws | no | | [Arknights](/wiki/arknights) (limited banners) | 300 pulls | no | | [Blue Archive](/wiki/blue-archive) | 200 recruits | no | | [Umamusume: Pretty Derby](/wiki/umamusume-pretty-derby) | 200 pulls | no | | [NIKKE](/wiki/nikke) | 200 pulls | yes, mileage never expires | | [Fate/Grand Order](/wiki/fate-grand-order) | 330 rolls (auto-granted) | no | Whether tokens expire is the sharp edge of the mechanic: a non-persistent spark only protects players who can commit the full amount inside one banner window, which shapes saving behavior across the whole player base. See the [pity comparison](/compare/pity-systems) for current values with sources. References: 1. Draw rates and cerulean spark rules (Granblue Fantasy community wiki): https://gbf.wiki/Draw 2. $6,065 hunt for a blonde avatar exposes dark side of Japan gaming (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/-6-065-hunt-for-blonde-avatar-exposes-dark-side-of-japan-gaming ---------------------------------------- # Whale URL: https://gachawiki.com/wiki/whale Type: term | Verification: verified (facts checked 2026-07-09) | Updated: 2026-07-09 A player who spends heavily on gacha, with dolphins and minnows as the lighter tiers. A small share of payers generates most gacha revenue, which shapes how these games are designed and regulated. A whale is a player who spends heavily in a gacha game. The term comes from casino industry slang for high rollers, and the community extended the metaphor downward: dolphins spend moderately, minnows spend a little, and [free-to-play](/wiki/free-to-play) players spend nothing. "Kraken" sometimes appears above whale. Free-to-play economics concentrate revenue in a small fraction of players, and gacha sharpens the effect: uncapped random draws plus [dupe systems](/wiki/dupe-system) mean a single motivated player can spend thousands of dollars on one banner. The best-documented public example is the 2016 Granblue Fantasy case, where one player spent about 700,000 yen in roughly a day chasing a single character, an event that pushed Cygames to invent the [spark](/wiki/spark) ceiling. [[1]](#ref-1) Design features aimed at whales are easy to identify once named: duplicate upgrades that multiply a character's total cost, leaderboards that reward roster depth, and banner schedules that overlap desirable releases. Features aimed at protecting or retaining everyone else form the opposite list: [pity systems](/wiki/pity-system), sparks, monthly passes with capped value, and generous earned currency. Spending-tier vocabulary is descriptive community usage, not a formal classification; there are no agreed dollar thresholds, and studies of "whale" behavior define the cutoffs differently. References: 1. $6,065 hunt for a blonde avatar exposes dark side of Japan gaming (Bloomberg): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-09/-6-065-hunt-for-blonde-avatar-exposes-dark-side-of-japan-gaming