The School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong, invites abstracts for GachaCon 2027: Otome Games and Beyond, a hybrid academic conference on gacha games with otome games as its main theme hold in 1-3 February 2027. We welcome submissions from game studies, sociology, cultural studies, literary studies, philosophy, art and design, psychology, and law. The conference includes a dedicated student-led presentation session. All are encouraged to apply.
Important Dates
Abstract submission deadline: 30 November 2026
Notification of acceptance: 14 December 2026
Conference: 1-3 February 2027
Call for Papers details
https://tinyurl.com/gachacon2027callforpaper
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)
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: Prof. Leon Xiao, Dr. Yisong Han, Kuma Xiong & Tianyi Zhangshao
For more details, please visit https://www.scm.cityu.edu.hk/events/gachacon-2027
Should you have any inquiries, please feel free to reach at cmpo.net@cityu.edu.hk
