Is the Monster Strike Creator Addicted? The $500K Gacha Truth
Monster Strike Creator Spent Millions to Understand Whale Players
The creator of Monster Strike once did something few developers would ever dare to try. He personally spent around 80 million yen, roughly 18 million baht, on in-game purchases to understand how whale players truly feel.
The story comes from Yoshiki Okamoto, a legendary Japanese game developer best known for his work on Street Fighter II during his time at Capcom and Konami. He recently shared this experience during a television appearance on Fuji TV.
Spending Real Money for Real Understanding
Okamoto explained that he paid real money into the gacha system of Monster Strike using his own personal funds. He did not use admin tools or developer privileges. He believed that only real financial risk could reveal the true emotions of whale players.
According to him, if a developer never feels the stress of spending large amounts, they can never design a fair and satisfying gacha system. He wanted to experience both excitement and disappointment, including the pain of bad pulls and repeated failures.
From Financial Collapse to Gacha Success
This mindset comes from a difficult chapter in Okamoto’s life. In 2011, his company Game Republic shut down. As a result, he faced debts exceeding 1.7 billion yen. During that period, he lived extremely frugally and limited daily food expenses just to survive.
However, everything changed in 2013 when he partnered with Mixi to launch Monster Strike. The game became a global phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing mobile games in history. The success allowed him to fully recover financially and rebuild his life.
No Admin Cheats, No Shortcuts
When asked why he did not simply use internal tools to obtain characters and items, Okamoto gave a clear answer. He said that using admin powers would destroy any chance of understanding real players.
He emphasized that respect for players starts with sharing the same risks. By entering the same gacha pool as everyone else, he gained insight that data alone could never provide.
A Rare Developer Perspective
This revelation explains why Monster Strike has remained successful for over a decade. The game’s systems were shaped not only by analytics but also by firsthand experience from its creator.
Instead of observing whales from a distance, Okamoto jumped into the gacha pit with them. That decision helped define one of the most enduring mobile games in the industry.
Origin: Automaton
