Gacha game

A gacha (Japanese: ガチャ) game implements mechanics inspired by Gashapon vending machines in a video game. (Gacha is derived from the alternative form gachapon). Similar to loot boxes, live service gacha games entice players to spend in-game currency to receive a random in-game item, which is generally seen mechanically central to gameplay. When players decide to purchase this currency with real-world funds to engage with gacha, a game generates revenue. Most common gacha games are free-to-play (F2P) mobile role-playing video games with an emphasis on strategy, such as team building, synergizing and player improvisation. The gacha game model has been around since the early 1990s with strategy trading card games such as Magic: the Gathering, but began to be widely used in the early 2010s in mobile gaming by Japan. Gacha mechanics have become an integral part of Japanese mobile game culture as well as pop culture in general. The game mechanism is also increasingly used in Chinese and Korean games, as well as in European and American games. Digital gacha games have been criticized for being designed to be addictive in order to attract so-called "whales" (large spenders) to spend money on microtransactions far beyond the usual price of a video game. The typical gacha game format encourages spending real-world money on chance-based loot tables with in-game rewards of differing value instead of individual specific purchases, with many sources comparing the business model to gambling.