List of gacha games
Gacha games are video games that implement the "gashapon" mechanic. "Gashapon" are a type of Japanese vending machine in which people insert a coin to acquire a random toy capsule. In gacha games, players pay virtual currency (bought with real money or acquired in-game) to acquire random game characters or pieces of equipment of varying rarity and usefulness. This is a variant of the loot box mechanic where players spend currency to acquire an entire set of random game items. Gacha games are typically mobile games made in Japan, China or other Asian countries, where  they are popular. They are typically free-to-play games which can be played using only the currency or characters received for free through gameplay and grinding. They are financed through the sale of virtual currency to the players who want to spend real money to progress faster or be better at competing with others. So-called "whale" players may spend significant amounts on gacha games, leading to concerns about gambling addiction. List. This list is limited to notable gacha games which have been released in an English-language version. The "metascore" is the score from 1 to 100 assigned  by the review aggregator Metacritic. For games that do not have enough reviews for a metascore, the number is the average of all reviews aggregated by Metacritic; these numbers are marked with an asterisk (*).