Studying Gacha Progression

What is “gacha” and how does it differ from lootboxes?

As I continue my way through more mobile games during my breaks, I have had a chance to take a closer look at gacha-based systems. While gacha and lootboxes are similar in design and reward, a gacha progression is much more focused in terms of rewards and monetization.

Gacha vs. lootboxes

To start with, let us try to properly define the two systems. A lootbox, for the purposes of our discussion today, is any microtransaction where the player is spending money on an unknown item. That item could be a consumable, it could be some legendary weapon or just some bonus resources. The player is expected to keep purchasing lootboxes as the content continues to scale up and demand more.

Gachas are designed to reward the player with something permanent — namely a new character that, once acquired, can be used in the game. Unlike lootboxes, gachas will sometimes have an inherent limit on how much you need to spend based on what character you want, depending on the power system (which we will be talking about in a minute).

Games that make use of lootboxes are designed around an everlasting need to open them, with very low drop chances on the best items. Lootboxes typically drop multiple items and are…