Despite the scale of popularity of gacha games and games-as-a-service on mobile devices, the market is so saturated and focused on a limited set of hits that most projects in Japan don't remain active for even three years.
A study conducted by a Japanese author specializing in gacha and games-as-a-service showed that among more than two thousand released games, over 70% did not celebrate their third anniversary. Often, closure occurs as early as the second year of operation.
In the face of severe oversupply, Japanese experts note that "gacha are sinking like the 'Titanic'." This is becoming a serious problem against the backdrop of rising annual production costs, so the results of the study do not seem surprising.
Even projects from well-known publishers face difficulties. Square Enix is experiencing problems, and Akatsuki Games, the creators of Dragon Ball Z: Dokkan Battle, closed Tribe Nine from the author of Danganronpa before it reached its first year. It's a high-risk, potentially high-reward bet, given the amount of funds needed to support the game for months.
In addition, Chinese companies like miHoYo have raised the bar for the quality of mobile projects, thanks to games like Genshin Impact, which creates additional pressure on gacha developers.
