Gacha Game Collaborations and the Circulation of Affective Value

This paper examines cross-media collaborations in China's mobile gacha game sector, arguing that they function as affective infrastructure through which emotional attachments circulate across commercial, cultural, and institutional domains and are converted into different forms of value. Drawing on Sara Ahmed's concept of affective economies, the analysis treats affect as something that gains force through movement and redirection rather than residing within individuals. Collaborations are therefore understood not merely as marketing tactics or supplementary fan service but as mechanisms that organize how existing emotional investments travel and accumulate meaning.

The study identifies three modes of collaboration and examines each through case studies and close readings of promotional materials, event narratives, character design, and player discussions on social media. Brand and retail co-promotions channel affect toward consumption, as illustrated by a 2024 romance game partnership with a fast-food chain that transforms purchasing into a pleasurable and socially performative act. Culture- and state-oriented collaborations redirect affect toward cultural legitimacy, with a 2023 action role-playing game partnership with a regional museum showing how aesthetic design and character-centered storytelling invite admiration for officially sanctioned heritage without requiring explicit political messaging. Inter-game crossovers bring established franchise characters into a hosting game, extending the lifespan of fan attachments, though a 2025 example also produced player backlash over a character redesign, indicating that audiences retain partial agency over whether symbolic associations are accepted.

The paper situates these dynamics within mobile gacha games specifically, citing their character-centered monetization, live-service structure, and habitual engagement as conditions that intensify affective circulation. The study's scope is limited to the mainland Chinese market, and its findings rest on qualitative interpretation rather than systematic audience data. Its framework is proposed as a potentially transferable lens for understanding collaborative events in other media contexts, with the central conclusion that affect has become an increasingly convertible resource within digital game economies.