The market is just going to continue growing exponentially. Since it is likely to reach around 985.7 million by 2032, it's safe to say that gacha games will continue getting released.
The following is a breakdown of these games, including their genres and the years they were released.
In 2024, 14 out of the 50 most profitable games fall under the role-playing genre, indicating that a lot of spenders tend to prefer games in that genre. Additionally, at least 10 games were released in 2024. This could mean that some players are simply spending to consume all the available content in the game as quickly as possible. It may also be due to recency bias, where players feel more inclined to spend their money on games they have just begun playing.
There seems to be a linear trend regarding the release years of the games. The newer the game, the more likely it is to remain on the most profitable chart. This is likely because the older the game, the more bored players might become, feeling that they have experienced everything the game has to offer.
While there is no specific trend, it's clear that the revenue gacha games generate tends to fluctuate a lot. Some months may be significantly more profitable than others, even when the rates offered by the games have not changed. It is the content that changes, which indicates that it isn't the rates that affect how players spend, but the content they produce.
Based on Honkai: Star Rail's performance, it seems that revenue is affected by the characters popularity more than anything. However, does drop rates still play a part in this?
The following chart looks at the correlation between a game's drop rate with a games revenue. It also looks at whether the amount of new players joining the game affects the amount of profit a game gets. An argument could be made that new players might be more likely to spend money on these games to catch up with more veteran players
Based on this chart, it does look like the revenue isn't affected by the drop rates offered by each game as there is a variety of them all throughout. While it seemed like games with lower drop rates tend to have more profits,there are still a lot of instances of other games with the same drop rate that doesn't produce even 1/10 of another games profit.
While not always the case, mobile games tends to have 3 different servers for the players; Global, Japanese, and Chinese servers.
Depending on where the video game publisher is from, mobile games tend to release in first locally in China or Japan. As these games grow in popularity, they would create a global server for the rest of the world to be able to properly understand the story of the game. This isn't always the case of course and some games, like Genshin Impact, released their Chinese and Global servers together.
There is a believe that the reason some games make a lot of money is their Asian players, specifically Japanese and Chinese player. As such, games tend to market themselves to that market in hopes of getting them to spend money.
Considering "gacha" comes from the Japanese word "Gachapon" and generally, a lot of gacha games comes from Japan, this makes a lot of sense! With gacha games being a common occurance there, Japanese players are likely more willing to spend on these games as its a bit more normalized.
It is important to note that when China generates revenue, it generates a LOT compared to other regions. If you were to look at Love and Deepsace, revenue generated by the Chinese servers tends to be at least 5 times what Global and Japan servers combined generate in a month. While this is the most drastic difference, this can also be seen with titmes such as Genshin Impact, Honkai Star: Rail, and Arknights.
With this in mind, it makes sense why some video games tend to market itself to a Japanese or Chinese audience first, they really are the big moneymakers when it comes to it.
With gacha games constantly releasing new characters, re-releasing popular ones, or creating new items that are useful for well-liked characters, there will always be players so attached to them that they'd be willing to spend money to obtain these items.
Drop rates also play a part in terms of longevity. Games released between 2012 and 2017 had an overall higher drop rate compared to those released from 2018 onwards.
Video games always aim to keep their veteran players happy while ensuring that the game remains fun and accessible for new players. This approach helps maintain the game's longevity by replenishing the player base and preventing decline as older players may stop playing. It also generates potential revenue streams from new users.
It is crucial to maintain a good balance between the drop rates a game offers, alongside the gameplay and storyline, to ensure the game's success.
An article by the Washington Post calls the gacha mechanic what it is: gambling.
It is important for players to be aware of this fact, and for developers to (in good faith) avoid exploiting their player base for money to get characters they like.
PS. DON'T MAKE COSMETICS THAT COST MORE THAN 30 CAD AND DO NOTHING—that’s just a scam, and it won’t make your players happy >:(
