GachaCon 2027: Otome Games and Beyond

Conference

We’ll be hosting GachaCon 2027, a hybrid academic conference on gacha games with otome games as the main theme, on 1–3 February 2027 at the School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. Game studies, sociology, culture studies, literary studies, philosophy, art & design, psychology, and law; come one, come all! We will have a dedicated student-led presentation session, so everyone is encouraged to apply.

01 Feb 2027 - 03 Feb 2027
Senate Room, 19/F, Lau Ming Wai Academic Building (LAU), City University of Hong Kong
Free admission
 GachaCon 2027: Otome Games and Beyond
Call for Papers

https://tinyurl.com/gachacon2027callforpaper

Important Dates

Abstract submission deadline: 30 November 2026

Notification of acceptance: 14 December 2026

Conference: 1-3 February 2027

Abstract Submission

https://tinyurl.com/gachacon2027submit

Extended Abstract Template

https://tinyurl.com/gachacon2027template
(please download and edit locally rather than use Google Docs for editing)

Registration (In-person / online)

https://tinyurl.com/gachacon2027register

Abstracts may address (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • Otome games
  • Narrative and storytelling
  • Character design: love interests, protagonists, and visual appeal, etc.
  • Romance, intimacy, desire, and emotional engagement
  • Affect and affective labor
  • Gender, sexuality, and representation
  • Character attachment, parasociality, and player–character relationships
  • Gacha mechanics, character collection, and monetisation
  • Player communities, including their reaction to various issues
  • Localisation, censorship, and transnational circulation
  • Game industries, production practices, and developer perspectives
  • Voice acting, character performance, and creative labour
  • Regulation, policy, consumer protection, and game governance
  • Marketing: offline events, merchandise, social media posts, etc.
  • Any other topics relating to gacha games
Organisers

Leon Xiao, Yisong Han, Kuma Xiong & Tianyi Zhangshao

Presented by School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong

General Enquiry