While Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, and Wuthering Waves continue to dominate the free-to-play market, there are plenty of new contenders who are vying for the gacha game crown. So, to help you get the lowdown on the best upcoming releases, we’ve outlined all the gacha games we’re excited to play in 2025 and beyond.
The roster of gacha games continues to grow ever further – in fact, it seems like every month there’s a new release for fans to feast on. 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 is looking bright for gacha fans. While none of the games on this list have confirmed release dates yet, we’ve outlined the biggest, most ambitious titles we can’t wait to delve into.
So, if you’re 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
Originally known as Project Mugen, Ananta aims to wow fans with its sprawling open world and has quickly become known fondly as “anime GTA” and it’s not hard to see why. Unlike other gacha games, Ananta takes place in a sprawling urban city where players can freely explore.
Judging from the latest two-minute trailer, players will be able to drive vehicles and use a Spider-Man-style grappling hook to sling their way through the concrete jungle. Nova City is also jam-packed, with beaches, clubs, gambling dens, gyms, basketball courts, and racing tracks.
One of the biggest complaints about gacha games is the lack of end-game and side content, but it looks like Antana aims to solve this. We’d even go as far as to say that Ananta is more Yakuza than GTA, just in terms of the sheer amount of minigames that it appears to offer. Although, we wouldn’t be complaining if anime Kiryu appeared!
Ananta’s combat looks super sleek as well, with characters using flashy supernatural abilities to overwhelm their foes. Players can also use surrounding objects to defeat enemies, like throwing tires to immobilize bad guys. It all looks incredibly impressive and we can’t wait to delve in.
Azur Promillia
Azur Promillia blends Genshin Impact combat with a hearty dose of Palworld, to create a a new creature-collecting game. Players can effortlessly switch between four characters and battle alongside their companions, setting up elemental attacks that devastate their enemies.
When you’re not busy battling with your best pals, you can force them, I mean lovingly let them help you farm resources. Quite how in-depth the automation process remains to be seen, but having cute critters do the legwork for you is a win in our books.
After all, as is the tradition with every gacha game, you’ll need to farm A LOT of resources to level up characters. Another thing that Azur Promillia does is ditch the handglider – an item that has seemingly appeared in every open-world game since Breath of the Wild.
Don’t be alarmed though, you’ll get to fly a cool dragon instead. So, if you’re looking for a fusion dish of Genshin x Palworld, then Azur Promillia needs to be on your list.
Neverness to Everness
Neverness to Everness shares a lot of similarities to Ananta, in that it also takes place in open world city. Both games’ characters also feature supernatural abilities, but Neverness dials this up to 100.
We previously wrote how NTE’s combat and yokai-inspired enemies remind us of the popular anime, Dandadan. This is no bad thing considering how sleek the show looks, 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 surroundings that caught our eye. From abandoned schools to alleyways that are coated in thick blood-red ooze, NTE’s world looks both colorful and sinister.
There are even operational shops and a business management system, where players can purchase vehicles and property. So, when you’re not busy slinking around the city taking down sentient vending machines (yes, it’s that whacky), you’ll be able to head over to anime IKEA to kit out your digs with the freshest designs.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Arknights Endfield
Arknights: Endfield is the latest title that is being developed by HyperGryph, the creators behind the popular mobile game – Arknights. However, unlike the 2D Tower Defense combat of its predecessor, Endfield makes the jump to 3D.
While the combat may look a lot like other party-based gacha games, you only control one character, with the other three representing specific abilities. You’ll need to weave in basic attacks alongside your party’s special skills to stagger and kill your enemies.
It reminds us of the deadly combo skills from Tales of Arise, but without being able to switch out characters. However, what truly sets Enfield apart from 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 like ores and fuel. Gigantic structures kitted out with conveyor belts and vast networks of pipes were just among the few examples we saw, so if you’re a fan of resource management games, then you’ll definitely want to keep an eye out on Arknights Endfield.
Duet Night Abyss
Duet Night Abyss is one of the most interesting gacha games on this list as it blends third-person shooter combat alongside ability-based gameplay. Characters can be equipped with melee weapons and long-range guns, which adds a unique spin to the usual played-out fantasy formula.
Mobility is also a big part of Duet Night Abyss and players can effortlessly chain together elegant aerial leaps, shoot while floating in the air, and parkour their way through each segmented environment.
This mobility is a breath of fresh air and one that will make boss fights a lot more interesting, especially if you’re tired of just dodging through attacks. Did we mention that the demon-style character design looks incredibly cool? So, if you’re a fan of movement-based games like Warframe, but wish it had waifus, then Duet Night Abyss should be on your radar.
The Hidden Ones
Do you miss beating up bad guys in Sifu or are you a huge martial arts fan? If the answer is yes to either of those questions, then you’ll want to add The Hidden Ones to your watchlist.
This gacha game ditches traditional fantasy weapons and puts the focus on good old-fashioned clobbering. Yes, your fists will be the ones that 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’s even going to be a dedicated PvP where players can put their skills to the test in adrenaline-fuelled battles. While no release date has been set, there’s a pre-alpha test starting January 7, 2025.
Dead Spicy (Goddess of Victory Nikke sequel)
Following on from Shift Up’s successful Stellar Blade launch, the South Korean studio is gearing up for its next big release – Dead Spicy. Dead Spicy is a sequel to the hugely popular 2D idle shooter, Goddess of Victory Nikke. However, unlike its 2D predecessor, Dead Spicy will be making the jump to 3D.
The game is described as a third-person shooter with a very high level of difficulty, which director Hyungsuk Yoo believes will be a “gem in gaming history.” If that wasn’t enough to tantalize your gaming tastebuds, then we don’t know what will.
However, players hoping to blast their way through the game’s mechanical menaces will need to be prepared for a lengthy wait. Sadly, the free-to-play game won’t be released any time soon, with the devs planning for a launch within the next 20 years. Yikes! Guess we’ll be watching the trailer above a few more times then…
So, there you have it, those are all the gacha games we’re excited to play in 2025 and and beyond. While you wait for the upcoming releases, be sure to check out our best gacha games list to see where your favorites land.
