Gacha games are known for ethically dubious monetization practices (see this video).
- They're free to play games, but you can make in-game purchases;
- They're designed to be easy;
- They're deliberately designed to be habit-forming and even addictive, such as by applying pressure through FOMO, sunk cost (the IKEA effect), time gates, etc.;
- "Whales" might spend $1000+ on games, while most people spend nothing;
- In-game purchases solve problems, but those problems are built into the game by the manufacturers;
- Children can play them;
- There's elements of gambling (like loot boxes);
- Some are basically play-to-win (despite being advertised as free-to-play).
I also note that currently Duolingo is doing a collaboration with gacha game Genshin Impact.
While it's clear Duolingo has some of the aforementioned mechanics, I don't know enough about how Duolingo is currently monetized to appraise how similar it is to a gacha game.
Question: Nowadays, how similar is Duolingo to a gacha game?
