Modern day roulettes: why people choose to play gacha games

Abstract

Gacha games have become increasingly popular and lucrative in the video game industry, recognizable from their chance-based rewards and progression. The aim of this thesis is to study player motivations in this sub-genre of video games.

The study used a quantitative online survey to measure player opinions and motivations. The survey was shared in gacha communities via Discord and amassed a total of 105 responses. The data was then analyzed with thematic analysis and descriptive statistics.

The end results showed that players were mainly motivated by the narrative, characters and gameplay, although spending remained relatively modest. Transparency, fairness and luck influenced opinions, but controversies didn’t deter players from playing the games. Community influence retained players more closely with a game but didn’t affect spending behavior.

The findings suggest that gacha games don’t rely on gacha mechanics to be successful but instead with narrative design, world and character designs and solid core gameplay. These insights could prove to be useful for future game developers, as well as for future research into player motivations.