What are the best gacha games? A spiritual successor to coin-operated gachapon machines, gacha games take the joy of capsule toys and translate them into a live-service videogame format where players wish on banners to pull their favorite characters. Whether you love to hate them or hate to love them, gacha games are here to stay, and we've got the top picks for you.
The best gacha games balance the low barrier to entry that comes from a card games, there's a gacha on this list that's perfect for you.
The best gacha games in 2025 are:
Genshin Impact
A definitive list of the best gacha games wouldn't be complete without Genshin Impact. While Hoyoverse's flagship title is by no means the first of its kind, it is the one that catapulted the formula into the mainstream and made it an emergent genre for international audiences. What sets Genshin Impact apart from its competitors is Hoyoverse's dedication to telling an engaging story set in an open world that captures the spirit of Nintendo's Breath of the Wild with its sweeping, cel-shaded landscapes.
Genshin Impact's main draw is by far its characters, as Hoyoverse deftly avoids the 'waifu collector' factor endemic in gacha games that can put off some players. While the appeal is certainly there, Genshin Impact's diverse cast of characters sport a more family-friendly design, and their sparkling personalities are the major attraction when pulling them in Genshin Impact builds.
Zenless Zone Zero
Zenless Zone Zero is the latest offering from gacha giant HoYoverse that follows in the footsteps of Genshin Impact and Honkai Star Rail. However, this urban RPG brings an all-new approach to the table, setting aside the galactic sci-fi and high fantasy to embrace urban living with a twist. ZZZ is primed to capture the hearts of Persona fans, though our old games like Digimon World.
Our ZZZ events, build a powerful team of eclectic characters, then delve into dangerous Hollows to complete commissions. New Eridu awaits!
Play Zenless Zone Zero for free.
Honkai Star Rail
HoYoverse is widely regarded as the current reigning gacha game developer, so it should be no surprise that turn-based game combat system delivers a very different experience to Genshin Impact, though it doesn't stray far from the core HoYoverse formula that we all love so much.
If you're ready to begin your trailblazing journey, we've got plenty of next Honkai Star Rail update if you want to get up to speed with the latest characters, events, and story developments.
Play Honkai Star Rail for free.
Infinity Kingdom
The best gacha games are those that have a really cool roster of characters to draw from, and Infinity Kingdom really delivers on that front. Not only does this MMO strategy game have a large number of characters from history (Cleopatra, Boudicca, Tutankhamen), but also folklore (Robin Hood, Mulan), and mythology (Merlin, King Arthur, Medb). With some deep cuts included in the mix, you never know who you're going to unlock next.
Of course, while the character collecting is always going to be fun, there's still a decent gaming experience behind this too. On the one hand, it's a city-building game where you have to strengthen and expand your kingdom to facilitate the accumulation of more immortal legends, but on the other hand, it's an intensely addictive PvP game where players pit their unique squads of characters against each other in battle. If that's not your bag, there's also a complete PvE campaign to make your way through on your own. It caters to many tastes and play styles.
Play Infinity Kingdom for free.
Infinity Nikki
Developer Infold Games has already cornered the mobile market with its dress-up game series, but Nikki's first foray on PC has been a runaway success. An open-world game that takes its cue from Genshin Impact and Breath of the Wild, Infinity Nikki sees the pink-haired fashionista transported into the fantastical Miraland. With her best pal Momo, Nikki must become a top-tier stylist and collect Miracle Outfits to save the world.
If that sounds like too much effort, don't fret – Miraland is chock-full of whimsical activities that would fit right at home in Infinity Nikki codes for a headstart once you finally begin your journey in Miraland.
Another Eden
JRPG and gacha mechanics collide in Another Eden, a story-driven, single-player game that's a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger. Writer Masato Kato and composer Mitsuda reprise their roles for this nostalgic adventure through time and space, giving it an air of authenticity that modern Chrono-likes can't quite emulate.
Another Eden follows Aldo, a cat-turned-human hero who must hop between the past, present, and future to rescue his lost sister from the evil clutches of a mysterious Beast King. Another Eden is a hug in a mug for old-school RPG fans, and while its gacha odds are pretty stingy, chronically unlucky players can still comfortably clear all content with F2P characters.
Guardian Tales
Guardian Tales takes the same cues as Genshin Impact but reimagines it as a top-down classic JRPG like A Link to the Past. We arrive in Kanterbury Kingdom as a newly recruited Guardian Knight, who must defend the vibrant land from alien invaders. This inciting incident lays the groundwork for a complex story full of cute and quirky characters. Its strategic combat is the main thrust of its gameplay, but there are plenty of side activities, from puzzles and secrets to a city-builder minigame.
Guardian Tales does boast a bigger gacha grind compared to other entries on this list thanks to the difficulty spikes in later worlds, but this also means it offers a greater challenge. It also has a smaller roster of characters than we usually see in gacha, offering a nice alternative to those looking to avoid the power creep inherent to rapid banner cycles. If you're looking for a gacha game that demands a bit more from you than a quick play session on your daily commute, Guardian Tales might just fit the bill.
Honkai Impact 3rd
Before Genshin Impact, there was Honkai Impact 3rd. HoYoverse's classic precursor to Honkai Star Rail has been trucking for nearly a decade. It is a little dated by today's standards, but the release of Honkai Impact 3rd Part 2 in 2024 implemented QoL features and even a limited open world that have helped it keep up with competitors. HI3 also predates the standardized gacha model as we know it today. While it's slightly more aggressive and competitive thanks to its fast-paced battle system, there's plenty of scope to build a team of top-tier Valkyries with weapons to match.
Honkai Impact 3rd will most obviously appeal to Star Rail fans, but its arena-style matches and an emphasis on rapid clear times aren't that dissimilar to Zenless Zone Zero. However, HI3's story sets it apart from its HoYo siblings. It follows Kiana Kaslana, a Valkyrie-in-training stationed on an alternate version of Earth beset by a malevolent and corruptive force known only as the Honkai. The events that follow are a world away from the optimistic comfort of Genshin Impact. HI3's story is oppressively dark and tinged with tragedy, from its brainwashed child assassins to traumatized war survivors. Sure, it's a lot to handle – but if you're a Honkai Star Rail fan twiddling your thumbs between updates, now's your chance to discover all the throwbacks and references you might have missed aboard the Astral Express.
AFK Journey
RPG game is set in a magical storybook world populated by elvish rangers, valiant knights, and spell-slinging mages who engage in turn-based combat across an open-world map.
Gacha game fans might recognize AFK Journey as the sequel to AFK Arena, though there are some major differences between the two. For one thing, AFK Journey is less of an AFK Journey codes to help you pull them.
Wuthering Waves
anime game's protagonist, Rover, is an amnesiac "Resonator" capable of fighting these monsters, though they'll need a team of allies to help them on their journey to restore their memories.
Our Wuthering Waves codes to help you beat the odds.
Limbus Company
Limbus Company is one of the few recent gacha games that eschew the HoYoverse formula in favor of a turn-based brawler replete with eldritch horrors. A spin-off title from Lobotomy Corporation, Limbus Company drops you right into the thick of ProjectMoon's off-beat monster management sim as an executive manager to a team of so-called Sinners.
Your mission is to descend into the metropolitan remnants below the facility to retrieve the Golden Boughs and exploit their power. Master the unique skills of each Sinner to survive deadly skirmishes with Abnormalities and further the story in this unique blend of cyberpunk and Lovecraft. Limbus Company is also very generous to its F2P audience, making it a great entry-level gacha game for players new to the genre.
Final Fantasy 7 Ever Crisis
Ever Crisis is the perfect opportunity for FF7 Remake fans to dip their toe into the gacha game experience. This abridged version of FF7 and Crisis Core charts the major events from both games, while also delving into the murky origin story of a young and troubled Sephiroth.
Unlike most gacha games, you won't be wishing on banners to unlock the likes of Cloud, Tifa, and Aerith. Instead, you unlock characters for free as you progress through the story, while their signature weapons and gear are up for grabs on those banners. Combat takes the staple elements of FF7's combat system, and players can also benefit from quality-of-life features like auto mode and battle speed to keep each battle swift and snappy. You can even forces with your friends in online co-op to take on powerful bosses like Ifrit and Ramuh.
Arknights
If you're looking for a gacha game that's a bit different, Arknights is a top-down tactical tower defense game that involves sending operators into sequential battle stages to take out enemies before they can infiltrate your base. Developer Hypergryph bucks the trend of casual gacha games, offering deep strategy where a single misplay can decide a match.
As challenging as it may be, F2P s can clear all content without resorting to avenues. Its 300-strong character roster offers a blend of anthropomorphic and kemonomimi characters, from bunny-eared scientists to conniving rat kings, and this sheer diversity guarantees that there's a favorite for every kind of player. They also assist with the base-building feature between combat operations, maintaining the facilities you install to help make them stronger.
Reverse 1999
Reverse 1999 is a time-bending tactical gacha game set in the 20th Century, though when is the big question thanks to the temporal storm that reverses time, destroying everything in its wake. As the Timekeeper, you are the only one able to brave the storm and survive, making it your job to uncover the cause behind this supernatural phenomenon.
However, you won't be going it alone. You can recruit a team of fellow Arcanists to you on your mission, with the best and the brightest appearing on limited-time banners, naturally. Reverse 1999's card-based combat system should be a big draw for TCG fans, with various incantation types and rock-paper-scissors type effectiveness similar to Reverse 1999 codes to offset that cost.
Punishing: Gray Raven
Punishing: Gray Raven is a spectacle fighter that marries visual novel storytelling with hack-and-slash combat. As the Commandant of an elite squad, you must fight back against the hostile mechanoids determined to wipe out humanity in a series of combat stages.
Punishing: Gray Raven also has a reputation for generous banner odds, so if you're determined to stick to a free-to-play model, this could well be the best gacha game for you. Alternatively, if you're a long-time fan looking for something new, take a gander up this list at Wuthering Waves to discover the latest gacha from Kuro Games.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke
Goddess of Victory: Nikke's reputation precedes it, with excellent assets (ahem) that make it the de facto 'waifu collector' gacha game. There are more knee-high socks and miniskirts than you could shake a stick at – especially if that stick has the jiggle physics to match. Titillating characters aside, it doesn't change the fact that Goddess of Victory: Nikke is a genuinely good gacha game that offers something quite a bit different from other entries on this list. In short, it's a 2D static shooter that delivers casual real-time strategy, as your elite squad of beautiful ladies takes to the battlefield to fend off waves of hostile robots.
Goddess of Victory: Nikke's roster is already impressive, and you can even tag in your favorite women from other popular media, such as Makima in the Nier Automata collaboration. If you like Shift Up's style, it'd be remiss of us not to mention Stellar Blade; it's not a gacha game, but if you like Goddess of Victory: Nikke, odds are it'll be well worth your time.
Now that you've got your next best gacha game lined up, check out our list of the JRPG games if you'd prefer to ditch the gacha model altogether.