Best Upcoming Gacha Games for 2025 and Beyond

As Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and Wuthering Waves continue to dominate the free-to-play market, there are many new contenders vying for the gacha gaming crown. So to help you get a glimpse of the best upcoming releases, we’ve outlined all the gacha games we’re excited to play in 2025 and beyond.

The list of gacha games continues to grow – in fact, it seems like every month there’s a new release for fans to enjoy. In 2024 alone, we saw the launch of Infinity Nikki, Girls’ Frontline 2: Exillium, Zenless Zone Zero, Solo Leveling Arise, and many more.

However, with a new year comes exciting new games and the future looks bright for gacha fans. While none of the games on this list have a confirmed release date yet, we’ve outlined the biggest and most ambitious titles that we can’t wait to check out.

So, if you are tired of Genshin Impact or want an alternative to Honkai Star Rail, then these are the most exciting gacha games to look forward to in the future.

Ananta

NetEase Games

Originally known as Project Mugen, Ananta aims to wow fans with its sprawling open world and has quickly become affectionately known as the “GTA anime” and it’s not hard to see why. Unlike other gacha games, Ananta takes place in a sprawling city where players can explore freely.

Judging by the latest two-minute trailer, players will be able to drive vehicles and use a Spider-Man-style grappling hook to make their way through the concrete jungle. Nova City is also full of beaches, clubs, gambling dens, gyms, basketball courts and running tracks.

One of the biggest complaints about Gacha games is the lack of endgame and side content, but it seems like Antana is aiming to fix that. We’d even go so far as to say that Ananta is more Yakuza than GTA, just in terms of the amount of mini-games it seems to offer. However, we wouldn’t complain if the Kiryu anime appeared!

Ananta’s combat is also very stylish, with characters using flashy supernatural abilities to overwhelm their enemies. Players can also use surrounding objects to defeat enemies, such as throwing tires to immobilize bad guys. It all sounds incredibly impressive and we can’t wait to dive into it.

Azur Promillia

Manjuu

Azur Promillia mixes Genshin Impact combat with a healthy dose of Palworld, to create a new creature collecting game. Players can easily switch between four characters and fight alongside their companions, unleashing elemental attacks that devastate their enemies.

When you are not busy fighting with your best friends, you can force them, I mean lovingly let them help you cultivate resources. It remains to be seen how thorough the automation process goes, but getting cute creatures to do the work for you is a win in our books.

After all, as is tradition in every gacha game, you will need to farm A LOT of resources to upgrade the characters. Another thing Azur Promillia does is ditch the handglider – an item that seems to appear in every open-world game since Breath of the Wild.

Don’t worry, you’ll get to pilot a cool dragon instead. So if you’re looking for a Genshin x Palworld fusion dish, then Azur Promillia needs to be on your list.

From never to eternity

Studio Hotta

Neverness to Everness shares many similarities with Ananta, in that it also takes place in an open-world city. Characters in both games also have supernatural abilities, but Neverness takes them to 100.

We’ve previously written about how NTE’s combat and yokai-inspired enemies remind us of the popular anime Dandadan. That’s not a bad thing considering how stylish the series is, so having a gacha game that shares these otherworldly themes is a win in our books.

Switching between characters and unleashing powerful abilities is the aim of the game here, but it’s the spooky environment that caught our attention. From abandoned schools to alleys covered in thick blood-red slime, the world of NTE seems both colorful and sinister.

There are even operational stores and a business management system, where players can purchase vehicles and properties. So when you’re not busy wandering around town dismantling sentient vending machines (yes, it’s that crazy), you can head to anime IKEA to outfit your digs with the latest designs .

The Endfield Knights

HYPERGRYPH

Arknights: Endfield is the latest title developed by HyperGryph, the creators of the popular mobile game Arknights. However, unlike its predecessor’s 2D Tower Defense combat, Endfield goes 3D.

While combat may be a lot like other group gacha games, you only control one character, with the other three representing specific abilities. You’ll need to integrate basic attacks with your party’s special skills to stagger and kill your enemies.

This reminds us of the deadly combo skills from Tales of Arise, but without the ability to change characters. However, what really sets Enfield apart from the other gachas on the list is its in-depth base building mechanic.

During the recent gameplay video, we saw how players can create huge factories to process resources such as ores and fuel. Gigantic structures equipped with conveyor belts and vast networks of pipes are just a few examples we’ve seen, so if you’re a fan of resource management games, then you’ll definitely want to keep an eye on Arknights Endfield.

Abyss Night Duo

Hero Entertainment

Duet Night Abyss is one of the more interesting gacha games on this list because it mixes third-person shooter combat and ability-based gameplay. Characters can be equipped with melee weapons and long-range weapons, which adds a unique twist to the usual fantasy formula.

Mobility is also an important element of Duet Night Abyss and players can effortlessly string together elegant aerial jumps, shoot while floating in the air, and make their way through each segmented environment.

This mobility is a breath of fresh air and one that will make boss fights much more interesting, especially if you’re tired of simply dodging attacks. Did we mention that the demonic style character design is incredibly cool? So if you’re a fan of movement-based games like Warframe, but wish there were waifus, then Duet Night Abyss should be on your radar.

The hidden ones

Morefun Studios

Do you miss beating up the bad guys in Sifu or are you a big fan of martial arts? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you’ll want to add The Hidden Ones to your watchlist.

This gacha game abandons traditional fantasy weapons and emphasizes good old fashioned slashing. Yes, it’s your fists that will do the talking in The Hidden Ones, and you’ll need to master well-timed dodges, deadly counters, and Wuxia-style abilities to overwhelm the game’s bosses.

There will even be dedicated PvP where players can test their skills in adrenaline-filled battles. Although no release date has been set, pre-alpha testing will begin on January 7, 2025.

Dead Spicy (sequel to Goddess of Victory Nikke)

HIGH CHANGE

After Shift Up’s successful launch of Stellar Blade, the South Korean studio is gearing up for its next big release – Dead Spicy. Dead Spicy is a sequel to the very popular 2D idle shooter, Goddess of Victory Nikke. However, unlike its 2D predecessor, Dead Spicy will be moving to 3D.

The game is described as a third-person shooter with a very high level of difficulty, which director Hyungsuk Yoo says will be a “gem in video game history.” If that wasn’t enough to tantalize your gaming taste buds, then we don’t know what will.

However, players hoping to fight their way through the game’s mechanical threats will need to prepare for a long wait. Unfortunately, the free game won’t be releasing anytime soon, with the developers planning to launch within the next 20 years. Yeah ! I guess we’ll watch the trailer above a few more times…

So there you have it, those are all the gacha games we’re excited to play in 2025 and beyond. While you wait for upcoming releases, be sure to check out our list of the best gacha games to see where your favorites land.