Netmarble ditched the gacha in Solo Leveling — but is that enough to win players back?

Why this matters right now

Netmarble quietly pulled off something unusual: it took a heavily monetized 2024 gacha title, stripped the gacha out entirely, and relaunched it on PC as Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive – a paid, PC-only rework that promises you can earn everything through play. That’s a big deal not because corporations suddenly grew a conscience, but because it shows there’s a market for gacha-adjacent games that don’t cling to predatory monetization.

• All recruitment, weapons and progression are now earnable in-game – no randomness required.
• Price: $39.99 on Steam with a free demo; early reception sits at about 75% positive.
• Community concerns: always-online requirement and anti-cheat implementation; Netmarble says it’s working on an offline mode.
• This follows a small trend of gacha-ish games pruning microtransactions – but execution still matters.

What changed — and what hasn’t

On paper, Overdrive is simple and appealing: the recruitment and weapon systems that once relied on RNG pulls are now replaced with earnable alternatives. Netmarble says every Hunter, including Sung Jinwoo, and every weapon can be unlocked through gameplay. For people like me who loved the Solo Leveling manhwa but baulked at the original Arise’s monetization, that’s the headline: you can finally play the fantasy without needing to feed a slot machine.

But removing the gacha cartridge doesn’t automatically make the engine hum. The original Arise was criticized for being grindy, overly repetitive, and having disappointing drop rates — complaints echoed by critics and creators such as Pseychie. If the core loop still relies on long grind cycles or opaque progression gates, converting to a premium buy-to-play model simply relocates frustration rather than fixes it.

Why you should care (and where to be skeptical)

This caught my attention because I’ve spent the last few years trying to enjoy gacha-adjacent games while avoiding monetization traps. Seeing Netmarble yank the paywall is promising. It’s one thing for a game to offer cosmetics and optional convenience—another to build progression that effectively demands cash. Overdrive tries to reframe Solo Leveling as a legitimate action-looter built around player effort, not payment frequency.

That said, there are warning signs. Steam reviews sit around 75% positive — “mostly positive” — which suggests players like parts of the experience but aren’t celebrating a complete turnaround. The loudest gripes are always-online requirements and concerns about anti-cheat software. For a title that intends to be a single-player-friendly alternative to gacha junk, shipping with intrusive online checks or heavy-handed anti-cheat is tone-deaf. Netmarble claims it’s “actively working on a solution to support a fully offline play mode,” which it needs to deliver fast.

Price, demo, and who should try it

At $39.99 (about £34.99) with a free demo, Overdrive positions itself as a mid-tier premium action RPG. That price is reasonable if the combat is tight and progression isn’t a misery loop. The demo is the smart play here: try the combat, check how recruitment feels without gacha, and see if grinding is still baked into progression. Over 10k players have tried it already, so you won’t be alone.

Industry context — is this a trend?

We’ve seen a handful of games loosen microtransactions or rework systems that felt exploitative — Tower of Fantasy’s recent updates being a notable example. But big players like HoYoverse show little inclination to abandon gacha completely because the model is outrageously lucrative. Netmarble’s move could be strategic: a PC re-release to capture players who’ll pay once rather than pull forever. If it succeeds, expect other publishers to consider premium routes for console/PC releases of mobile-first gacha games.

TL;DR — My take

Solo Leveling: Arise Overdrive is a welcome, imperfect experiment. Removing gacha is a meaningful step for players tired of aggressive monetization, and the $39.99 price plus demo lowers the barrier to try. But gameplay pacing, grind, and the always-online/anti-cheat situation will determine whether this is a genuine rebirth or just a cleaner wrapper around the same problems. Try the demo — and keep an eye on Netmarble’s offline mode promise before you commit.