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Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the latest gacha game import from Japan, has really struck a chord with fans. It currently sits at 35th place on iOS in the UK (amongst a lot of junk), and since its launch in 2021 in Japan, it has racked up $2.5 billion in revenue.
The combination of different anime horse girls, along with the typical sickly sweet idol aesthetics and addictive rogue-lite gameplay, probably has something to do with that. However, developers Cygames have had to put out a mild warning to the influx of new fans to please, please, be normal around the actual race horses the characters are based on.
It’s an obvious concern for stables that there could be a sudden tidal rain of gacha game fans suddenly descending on them. Especially with the notoriously calm animals, horses, it’s just a headache waiting to happen.
Umumusume politely requests you don’t smoke around the horses
Issued on the website and promoted through the in-game news feed, Cygames really wants players to take note of proper etiquette when making the pilgrimage.
The full message in-game reads:
“We’ve posted important guidelines on rules and etiquette for stable visits to our official site. It is thanks to the cooperation of racehorse owners and their respective stables that we’re able to share their stories in Umamusume: Pretty Derby.
“If you wish to visit a horse in person, please be sure to review the following guidelines in advance.
“We appreciate your cooperation in protecting the health, safety, and well-being of the horses, and hope you’ll continue to enjoy Umamusume: Pretty Derby.”
The guidelines themselves are pulled straight from the Kyousoba Furusato, a business dedicated to dealing with various ranches across Japan. It effectively breaks down into nine different rules to follow when visiting stables, including don’t smoke, no flash photography, and don’t spook the horses.
While it’s unlikely that most players would ever travel to see a horse in particular, modern fan bases tend to have obsessives lurking amongst them. Rather than wait for something to happen, Cygames has seen the writing on the wall (as have we with a brief glance over social media) and gotten in front of it. According to a post on X, formerly Twitter, “many Japanese players have visited, but issues have occasionally arisen.”
Pretty Derby brings fandom to horses, like Haru Urara, a loser
Umamusume’s roster of horse girls, which you acquire through its gacha system, has all quickly built little fanbases around them. One horse in particular, Haru Urara, has become a fan favourite thanks to her being a total loser who never gives up, much like in real life.
The real horse ran 113 races and lost them all. There’s a short documentary on Vimeo about her, aptly named “The Shining Star of Losers Everywhere”. However, she did recently run in a “soft horse race”, something the Japanese circuit does for retired horses, and reportedly, she actually won.
She’s also featured on an X account, where the owner has been surprised by the boom in attention. That and McDonald’s Samurai Mac burgers are upsetting his stomach.
What even is a gacha game?
Gacha games are a style of game originating from Japan that harkens back to gachapon. Pop a coin in the machine, twist the knob, and out pops a random toy. It’s now taken on new life since the very late 2000s and early 2010s, wherein the same concept is applied to multiple elements of the game. Instead of “pulling” for toys, you’re often trying to obtain different characters, skins, or items.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby is available on iOS, Android, and PC through Steam.
Published: Jul 12, 2025 04:06 am