Free mobile games and so-called gacha games make an incredible amount of money. Even old titles are at the top. A 10-year-old anime game has now even managed to surpass Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Which game is it? Fate/Grand Order was originally released in Japan in 2015, with the English version coming out only in 2017 in some countries. German players only got to start in 2022. As in the well-known anime series, you summon so-called servants as a Master to succeed in turn-based battles. The servants are available as loot in a gacha system. You can pull in banners and have a chance at certain characters.
The servants are historical and mythical figures that are widely known. These include Arthur from the Excalibur legend or Caesar and Leonardo da Vinci. The characters are categorized into classes and interpreted very freely.
For example, Arthur is a pretty swordswoman and Leonardo da Vinci is a young mage. There are also event skins in bikinis. The creative director of Marvel Rivals recently commented on their bikini skins.
Although Fate/Grand is quite old, the game still seems to be pretty popular, as the free RPG managed to earn over $51 million (about 44 million euros) in August. This allowed it to surpass Pokémon TCG Pocket (via GACHAREVENUE).
You can see a trailer for the game here:
Event boosts revenue, catapults the game to number 1
How are the revenues compared to other games? The website GACHAREVENUE summarizes the revenues and downloads of various gacha games based on the figures from Sensor Tower. In August 2025, Fate/Grand Order achieved $51,780,000 (about €44,432,000) rank one. The previous month, it only reached rank eight with just under $27 million.
In that month, the game was able to surpass Pokémon TCG Pocket ($50 million) and Love and Deepspace ($42 million). MeinMMO editor-in-chief Leya Jankowski wrote about Love and Deepspace recently.
Well-known titles like Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact only made it to spots 5 and 6. According to the Japanese website 4gamer.net, Fate/Grand Order was able to consistently place its earnings in the top 10 of mobile games in Japan between 2015 and 2024.
Where are the suddenly high revenues coming from? As The Gamer reports, there was a summer event in August that featured many activities and bonuses. Additionally, a new story and the free character Cnoc Na Riabh were introduced to the game.
A long runtime also has the advantage that players are attached to the game because they have invested a lot of money or time.
Gacha games are often criticized, and one should be cautious. Although the games are free, they often rely on opaque currencies and psychological tricks to get you to spend money. Investing money often makes the game easier, depending on how difficult it is.
If you are susceptible to such systems and gambling mechanics, you should rather avoid the game. If you are affected by gambling addiction or have questions about it, we have linked you to resources:
Fate/Grand Order is not only part of a large franchise with various animes and games; new characters regularly make their way into the game, based on real people. This was also the case in June. A new character caused the sales of a 700-year-old book to spike: The sales of a 700-year-old book suddenly rise because its author is part of an anime game
