A new competitor is rapidly ascending the ranks. Umamusume: Pretty Derby, the free-to-play sports simulation game centered around horse girls, is making significant strides on the Steam charts. Since its North American debut in June, this gacha game has attracted considerable attention, partly thanks to coverage from prominent streamers such as Northernlion and Vinesauce. It recently achieved a new personal best of slightly over 50,000 concurrent players on July 9th and continues to reach new highs each day.
To provide some context, this figure represents more than double the number of simultaneous players the game had upon its initial release. According to SteamDB data, the game is now firmly established within the top 50 most-played titles on Steam. This places it alongside major games like Elden Ring Nightreign and Warframe.
Umamusume: Pretty Derby has long been a massive hit in Japan, inspiring a range of related media including anime adaptations, spin-off party games, and even theatrical performances. The characters, known as Umamusume, are women endowed with the speed and strength of horses, visually distinguished by pointy ears and tails. Their activities include daytime racing competitions and elaborate pop concert performances for their fans at night. A fascinating element is that each character draws inspiration from a real, famous racehorse. One notable example is Haru Urara, a beloved long-shot, who is still alive today and receives visits from fans at her farm. The developers even issued guidance on appropriate behavior for visiting stables. These unique, almost peculiar real-world connections, unlike anything seen in other games, seem to be a key driver behind Umamusume`s organic word-of-mouth popularity.
For those familiar with social simulation games such as Princess Maker or Idol Manager, the core mechanics of Umamusume: Pretty Derby will be readily understandable. Each horse girl possesses initial aptitudes and statistics that can be enhanced through training exercises. They compete in races to prove their abilities and, if they rank highly enough, advance to more challenging levels. However, gameplay isn`t solely focused on training; it`s frequently punctuated by visual novel-style segments and character-specific storylines. Obtaining specific horse girls, though, requires engaging with the game`s extensive gacha, or lottery-like, mechanics. Fundamentally, Umamusume is about collecting character images, and acquiring a desired character may involve significant financial investment.
Umamusume is available for free play on both the Steam platform and mobile devices.