The arrival of Lucy and Rebecca in the universe of Wuthering Waves generated a wave of attention that quickly spread across social media, reignited discussions among players, and even caught the attention of people connected to the Cyberpunk universe. Between comments, fan art, memes, and the sheer amount of community interaction, the reaction seemed surprising even to part of the development side.
But looking at the current state of gacha games, perhaps the question is not why this happened. The question is: how could it not?
Over the past few years, collaborations have stopped being simple promotional events and have become one of the strongest tools for boosting live-service games. When a popular franchise enters a gacha game, it does not just bring characters — it brings an entire community.
The effect major anime collaborations create in games
When a collab happens, the outcome usually follows a pattern that has become familiar in the industry: returning players come back, newcomers decide to try the game, and the community creates an organic cycle of exposure that spreads across social media.
This happens because collaborations offer something traditional marketing struggles to recreate: the feeling of finally being able to interact with characters that previously only existed on screen.
Controlling familiar characters, building teams, and testing abilities directly inspired by popular series creates a powerful sense of collection and belonging — two elements that support much of the engagement behind gacha games.
That momentum naturally increases interest during the event and helps keep the community active until the next major update or collaboration.
Because of that, these events rarely end when they disappear from the game. They continue through videos, discussions, fan art, memes, and content created by players themselves, expanding the collaboration’s reach far beyond its official duration.
The response itself even caught the attention of people connected to the Cyberpunk universe, who commented on how impressed they were by the amount of fan art, cosplay, and community creations.
The interesting part is that, looking at recent gacha history, perhaps the surprising thing is not the collaboration’s success — but how this kind of reaction has become part of the natural cycle of these events.
It was not just Cyberpunk: other anime are following the same path
The phenomenon appears in other directions as well. The arrival of Solo Leveling characters in Grand Summoners reinforces how major franchises already understand the potential of this format. Instead of relying only on traditional advertising campaigns, brands are entering ecosystems that already have highly engaged players.
And this is not limited to guest anime collaborations. Today, there are entire gacha games built around established franchises because the market realized that community, visual identity, and attachment to characters have become central parts of the experience.
Collabs are no longer bonuses — they are strategy
Perhaps the most interesting part of all this is not seeing developers comment on the size of the public response.
The market has repeatedly shown that anime + gacha + popular characters tends to deliver results.
What remains impressive is the speed. A well-executed collaboration does not just sell new content. It creates a sense of occasion, brings communities together, and makes players feel like they are participating in something bigger than a normal update.
If collaborations were once simply a way to maintain interest, today they increasingly seem to be part of the main strategy. And after the response surrounding Lucy and Rebecca, it is difficult to believe this trend is slowing down.
