Is Granblue Fantasy: Relink a gacha game?

Granblue Fantasy: Relink represents Cygames’ venture into the action RPG genre, building on its successful mobile gacha game, Granblue Fantasy.

While the original game is known for its gacha mechanics and microtransactions, Relink diverges from this model. It does not feature gacha elements and avoids locking characters behind luck-based microtransactions.

Granblue Fantasy: Relink microtransactions, explained

In the demo and public showcases of Granblue Fantasy: Relink, it’s been made clear that all content available at launch is tied to progression within the game’s storyline. To unlock new characters, players need to collect Crewmate Cards, earned by completing quests and advancing through the story. These cards can then be exchanged for specific characters, without relying on random draws. Thus, the core appeal of Relink, its unique and varied characters, won’t be gated behind gacha mechanics. While it’s anticipated that future character additions may come through paid DLCs or expansions, the introduction of a random draw system seems unlikely, especially considering that Relink is a full-priced game retailing at $59.

In Granblue Fantasy: Relink, other customization options such as Sigils and Weapons are likely to be unlocked through completing specific quests or potentially as drops from monsters. That means there’s no lottery at all in the game.

As of now, the only content in Relink confirmed to require an additional real-money purchase is the Color Packs, which are part of the game’s Special and Digital Deluxe editions. But these packs offer purely cosmetic changes for your characters. Purchasing these editions also grants access to a Starter Pack, providing an early boost in the game’s storyline, but featuring items that seem to be accessible during the story as well.

Given Relink’s origin in a gacha game, we know the unexpected could happen. Yet, the prospect of the game incorporating chance-based microtransactions like its predecessor seems unlikely at this point. Typically, gacha mechanics are a hallmark of free-to-play games with an infinite gameplay loop, such as Honkai: Star Rail and Genshin Impact. The more linear, story-driven nature of Granblue Fantasy: Relink doesn’t seem to align with the introduction of such a system in the future.