Chinese developers have recently been making headlines with free-to-play anime-inspired games like Duet Night Abyss and ANANTA deciding to ditch the gacha monetization model. During Tokyo Game Show 2025, AUTOMATON got together with Duet Night Abyss producer Deca Bear to ask him more about this bold move development studio Hero Game made only a few months before the game’s official release.
While many gamers sounded quite excited about the change, some were worried about how the new monetization model would impact the developers, and whether it would hold up in the long run. But Deca Bear says that, while those concerns are valid, the team is making efforts to create a monetization model that benefits both the players and the developers.
“Of course, we have the same concerns. But that is why we’re working hard on bringing both our content and our services to a satisfactory level.” Deca Bear explained that the developers will continue adding more content to Duet Night Abyss, so that the game keeps feeling fresh and engaging for players. But while valuing quantity and variety, they will be focusing on keeping their services at a high quality.
“To explain why we don’t need a gacha system – by providing players with paid content like skins and character outfits, we’ve already established a solid monetization model,” Deca Bear emphasized. Rather than forcing people into forking out money for character and weapon banners, Hero Game’s goal is to expand the player base by simply making a game that’s easily accessible and worth playing. “By making it so the players don’t have to spend too much time or money on the game, there will be more newcomers willing to try it out. If possible, we’d like to provide more quality content to our players for a cheap price.”
As Deca Bear suggests, successful monetization is directly linked with player satisfaction – and maintaining this loop could benefit both players and developers in the long run. Furthermore, he expressed that, listening to the players’ feedback, the studio will be looking to further improve the monetization model once the game is actually out.
Duet Night Abyss launched for free on October 28 for PC, iOS and Android. Pre-registrations are currently open.
