New gacha games pop up so frequently most are hardly worth noticing unless you’re looking for a new time sink, and their impact on the real world usually starts and ends at mountains of fan art and a lighter wallet. But one recently released gacha has been drawing even fans who don’t normally touch this kind of game, and it’s having a surprising effect on some real-world animals, both for the better and worse.
There’s a good chance you’ve already heard of Umamusume: Pretty Derby even if mobile gacha games aren’t typically your thing. Based on the 2018 anime of the same name, Umamusume follows a group of horse girls (that is, girls who are also horses, not girls who just really like horses), training and competing in races at the prestigious Tracen Academy. You play as a trainer, leading the horse girl of your choice through their career at the academy by directing how they spend their time, then sitting back and watching that work pay off in races.
