Chain Chronicle is why you’ll see more free-to-play from Sega

Sega racked up roughly $72 million in microtransaction sales from Chain Chronicle since it’s launch last July. Sega and parent company Sammy Holdings revealed the staggering sum in their investor strategy presentation. The free-to-play mobile game allows players to make in-app purchases to mitigate grinding and boost their characters. Like Puzzle & Dragons, it’s been something of a runaway success with its largely Japanese audience. It’s got all the stuff you’d expect from a JRPG mobile game. There’s battling, and sexy character cards, and weird in-game forms of currency to obfuscate how much the player may be spending at any time. (You can watch some gameplay here.) $72 million! Is it any wonder why Sega plans to release 30 new free-to-play mobile games within the next year?

Chain Chronicle is available on iOS and Android, but you’ll need to have a Japanese account for both services to access the game. Sega is developing a version for the PlayStation Vita that will also be free-to-play.