Written by: Bhanu Prakash K.C - 24013, Grade XI
Posted on: 15 February, 2023
How Gacha Games are Making Billions
Gacha Games are games with gacha elements that give a player a randomly generated in-game item, but there's a catch: to get higher-tier in-game items, the player must use either real life money or the in-game currency collected over time because Gacha Games are a game of chance. It can be classified as gambling, but an intriguing fact is that the majority of the games are free to play, and they are also easily accessible because they are designed for the mobile community and can be run on mobile devices as well as other devices. Mobile games have generated more revenue than console and PC games in the last few decades, totaling more than $85 billion, which is more than PC games and console games combined. The popular example would be Genshin Impact, which is available on all platforms and was made by Hoyoverse. It is an open-world triple-A game and a free-to-play game that has made around 3.7 billion dollars in just 2 years of its release; so how does a game do that in just a span of two years? For this article, I will take it as an example.
Some of the tactics are:
Having a bonus for spending the first time
Having a first-time bonus is simple; it simply allows you to enter your credit card information. It will be auto-saved so you don't have to type it in the next time, allowing you to buy the in-game currency without having to go through the hassle of entering your information.
A daily log-in system
These games use a daily log-in system, so you will have to log in daily to get your daily benefit of in-game currency, requiring you to always log in so you do not miss out on the benefits you purchased for the game, requiring you to have some play time and making it a part of your daily routine, and eventually just buying that benefit very frequently, which will eventually lead to making a larger purchase.
In-game currencies
Games with in-game currencies are not a new concept, but these games have many different in-game currencies, which can be difficult to keep track of and confusing to newer players of the game, leading to confusion about how much money is spent on what.
Social proof
Many games have their own communities where players can share their accomplishments, but for Gacha Games, it simply means more money because the person is unlikely to send a picture of themselves not getting anything after losing money and will instead share what they won after spending their money on that item or character. This also makes people want to own the item or character, resulting in a spending spree.
Having lots of items for in-game purchase
If a game does not include any items or characters for people to spend money on, it is unlikely to make a profit; however, if the game has a lot of items or characters on release, it makes people want to spend more money to get whatever they desire. Some strategies are not covered here, such as having a ‘limited time’ item or character, or creating a new item or character that is stronger than the older ones, and creating new enemies that cannot be fought with the old items or characters, necessitating the player's use of new characters; because these games are free, games such as ‘Call of Duty’, which costs $60, a player sees the benefit of using microtransactions that are cheaper at first, and later, even though the game is free, people will have spent more than on the major titles. So these are some of the strategies used by gaming companies to make billions of dollars.
