Gacha games are very popular since going mainstream in 2021 with the release of Genshin Impact. The most popular gacha games have millions of installs and even the smaller ones have loyal fans who are willing to play the game many years after release. Gacha games all have a unique style of play and combat as well as diverse characters depending on their target audience. There are gacha games focused on idol culture and music such as Love Live and there are turn based combat games such as Arknights fulfilling a gap that Western Game Developers have not been able to fill. T
These Gacha Games feature very long storylines, various types of seasonal and celebratory events, and sometimes even the opportunity to PvP (Player vs Player) or play in Co-Op with your friends. What makes a Gacha Game a Gacha game however is always going to be the collectible items and/or characters in the game obtained using premium in-game currency. There are different names for the currency depending on the game however they operate the same way.
Gacha games have come a long way since they were created and marketed to asian markets in the past. The games today are normally marketed as free to play or F2P and available on the major platforms of IOS and Android to download. These games also normally allow players unwilling to spend money to earn the premium currency in-game doing a variety of daily tasks to keep players coming back for more.
Look below to the Top 3 Gacha Games of the 1st quarter of 2022 to see how far these games have come.
#1 Genshin Impact
It goes without saying that the hit-game Genshin Impact is still consistently the most valuable Gacha game at the moment with millions of players, constant content, mind-blowing visuals and graphics alongside amazing soundtracks and A-List Voice actors. This game also always has new lovable characters to pull. The game was developed by miHoYo in 2020 and has since become the go-to game of many new entrants to the Gacha Game community. In 2022, miHoYo continues their high-quality development with a new region release – The Chasm and although the most recent Genshin Impact update has been delayed. There is reason to look forward to more from the team at miHoYo!
#2 Azur Lane
Azur Lane is a side-scrolling shooter that uses elements of the Pacific War of World War II to focus on ship-based combat. The popular ship girls genre of gacha games first hit mainstream popularity with the release of Kancolle in Japan. Azur Lane’s generous premium currency handouts, amazing cast of characters in-game and addictive gameplay loop constantly keep players coming back for more. Azur Lane is available for download on IOS and Android platforms and is backed by a well-known development team. You will not regret picking up this game in 2022!
#3 Arknights
Arknights is a niche mobile game within the turn-based combat category. The game lovingly produced has been filled with hardcore fans who enjoy the deep storyline, wide-cast of diverse characters and generous premium currency and gacha pulls given to the player. It is easy to do daily tasks each day in Arknights and get the character you want without feeling forced to spend any money on the game. Many veterans in the gacha game community look to the Arknights model of monetisation as what every gacha game should aim to be, sustainable and fair to both the player and the developer. Here’s to seeing what else the developers have for us in 2022 after the new Radiant Knight update.
Did you enjoy our top 3 list of Gacha Games in Q1 2022?
With Q1 2022 over, many new games are still in the works from various developers trying to compete with our winner, Genshin Impact but there are also a large number of classic Gacha Games aiming to be the next Arknights or Azur Lane and aiming to get a core audience of players. We will be on the lookout for the next top hit!
