Duet Night Abyss is stepping away from the Gacha-RPG model.

Duet Night Abyss is setting itself apart from the usual gacha-RPG crowd by removing the mechanics that often frustrate players the most. In a global announcement stream held on 26 August, developer Pan Studio and publisher Hong Kong Spiral Rising Technology revealed that the upcoming title will do away with character and weapon banners entirely, while also scrapping the stamina system that typically limits play.

Why Duet Night Abyss is stepping away from gacha traditions

For years, gacha RPGs have been built around chance-based banners, where players spend in-game currency, often bought with real money, in hopes of unlocking characters or weapons with painfully low drop rates, sometimes under 1%. 

These rotating, time-limited banners are designed to create urgency, but they also generate frustration among players sometimes. After initially announcing itself as a gacha game, Duet Night Abyss is rejecting that approach altogether.

“We’re completely removing all character and weapon banners,” producer DecaBear said during the livestream, joined by operations member XD and environment artist Lichee. 

“From now on, every character and weapon can be earned completely through free gameplay: all the way until you’ve collected them all.”

Instead of gacha pulls, characters and weapons will be obtainable directly through the in-game shop or unlocked by collecting “fragments” tied to specific activities. The familiar star rating system, another gacha staple, has also been removed.

The shake-up doesn’t stop there. Stamina systems, a common mechanic designed to limit player progress by tying activity completion to real-world time, are also being cut. “Unlimited stamina,” DecaBear announced. “From now on, there’ll be no stamina walls holding players back.” XD admitted that during earlier tests, the old stamina limits made players feel pressured to spend money simply to keep playing.

No more banners and stamina limits

The move positions Duet Night Abyss as one of the few RPGs in the same space willing to abandon the formula that has defined the gacha genre since its rise alongside games like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero. 

While many developers have tried to soften the blow with improved drop rates or pity systems, Pan Studio appears intent on tearing the model down completely.

That said, questions remain. Players will want to know how long it takes to unlock characters and weapons for free, and whether paying simply speeds up the grind. With outright purchases still an option, monetisation hasn’t vanished; instead, it’s just being reshaped in a way that’s yet to be revevaled fully.

A useful comparison here is Warframe. Digital Extremes’ long-running action-RPG doesn’t rely on gacha systems at all. Instead, it uses a grind-to-earn model where almost every item in the game can be unlocked through play, while monetisation comes from cosmetics, boosters, and premium currency for those who want to skip the grind.

The game is set to launch globally on PC and mobile on 28 October, 2025, and it could prove to be a turning point for how gacha RPGs are made in the future.