Infold Really Fumbled: The Facts, The Misinformation, and My Thoughts on the Valko Situation

I have been playing Love and Deepspace for a year and some change. I had just quit playing gacha games like Honkai Star Rail and Genshin Impact around that time. I found myself spending too much money on characters and weapons that, in the long run, were not giving me any real-world satisfaction (plus I did not want to start a gambling addiction). Although the game has completely taken over my phone storage, LADS was unlike any other otome game I’ve played before, such as the Voltage Inc. games (dang, I used to spend a lot of money there too…) and Mystic Messenger. Yes, it was still a gacha game, but what I found so innovative was the insane level of player customization and first-person interaction through the dates, claw machine games, and the photo booth. It soon became my comfort game, and I grew to love the story and its characters, especially my two mains, Sylus and Rafayel.

When Valko was revealed as the sixth love interest, I was frankly indifferent about him. But when the June 28 livestream dropped, and I saw more of his character, I found myself really charmed by his personality and wolf archetype and was genuinely getting excited for him to appear on July 9. That was until Tuesday happened. On June 30, Infold released a statement on the game’s official Twitter stating Valko was no longer being released on and that they will no longer plan to release more love interests in the future.

Let’s jump into what exactly happened and why Infold made this unexpected call.

A Good Boy Gone…

For a long time, Infold had hinted at the possibility of another love interest being added to the game. This was evident in the “Coming Soon” tag under the select-character screen when you switched between the five already established love interests: Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus, and Caleb. On June 22, Love and Deepspace’s official Twitter account announced a surprise livestream, “The Supermoon Countdown”. Fans speculated that the livestream was planning to reveal a new love interest and that he was hinted to be a werewolf. Prior to the livestream’s announcement, the account was dropping promotional material that included a warning from the Hunters Association about a beast spotted in Linkon and a crime scene photo of a pawprint in concrete. At the end of the livestream, a trailer appeared, and the LADS girlies were proven right as Valko finally made his debut. However, Valko was met with mixed backlash from the player base. Many expressed skepticism with the sudden introduction of a new love interest since there had been a drought regarding updates to the game’s Main Story.
On the contrary, it appeared Valko had been in development for a long time at Infold, and his addition to the cast was going to be integral to the Main Story. In his profile, Valko’s job was listed as Chairman of EonCore Tech. EonCore Tech’s existence was hinted at in World Underneath Chapter 3: Fairnight’s Edge. The company was led by a mysterious family that had invested in EVER’s Gaia Research Center. It appeared EonCore Tech was doing research into Protocore Energy alongside EVER, who was using Protocores and Aether Cores in their human experiments. Although the company’s Chief Director was shrouded in mystery, they maintained a close collaboration with EVER.

A few days later, on June 28, LADS held the “Moonhowl Party” Special Program, which featured new updates coming to Version 6.0, including new information about Valko. Valko managed to win over players’ hearts with his boyish charm, mysterious vibe, and an aggressive, werewolf-inspired combat style built around his Metallization Evol (he also had a forehead too!). After seeing what he had to offer, players went from uncertain to curious, eagerly anticipating July 9 for Valko to be added to the game.

Unfortunately, not everyone was happy with Valko being added to the game. In any fandom, there are two types of fans: those who love the content for what it is and those who complain online and look for any reason to cause controversy online because they hate it. Infold’s base players, Chinese (CN) players, were outraged at the announcement of Valko and began boycotting Infold. According to an article by Beijing Daily, players claimed Valko did not fit typical East Asian beauty standards, typically described as a youthful appearance, flawless pale skin, and a slender physique. They criticized Infold for designing Valko to pander to the overseas market with his buff build and tan skin, which they said made him look too “dark” and “gay”. They also argued that the main story lines of the five established love interests had not received updates in over 500 days—particularly Sylus’s and Caleb’s stories—and believed the company’s resources were being redirected toward introducing a new character instead of continuing content for the existing cast.

According to Chinese media, the game’s official Chinese social media accounts lost about 1 million followers across platforms. Reports also stated players marched up to Papergames’s office, placing cow dung inside the company’s delivery lockers and leaving yellow chrysanthemums, curse banners, glutinous rice, and pomelo leaves around the promotional display outside the building. White and yellow chrysanthemums in modern Chinese culture represent funerals and paying respects to the deceased, while glutinous rice and pomelo leaves are traditional items used in spiritual cleansing rituals to ward off evil spirits.

In the “World Underneath” storyline, updated on April 21, players discovered a “human drug trial experiment file” called “A-0731.” The number “731” was controversial because it appeared to reference Unit 731, a biological and chemical warfare research unit used by the Imperial Japanese Army during its occupation of China from 1936 to 1945. The unit became the center of horrific human experimentation, in which prisoners and marginalized groups were subjected to surgeries without anesthesia, including amputations. Biological weapons developed at the facility were also deployed against Chinese cities and villages, killing at least 200,000 to 500,000 people and contaminating their water, food, and crops. To this day, Japan has never faced legal proceedings for these war crimes or made any attempt to compensate the victims. CN players tried to tie this disturbing historical event to Valko, since his company was tied to EVER, which was conducting human experiments. However, this storyline was actually connected to Xavier’s story about Isaiah, not Valko.

Another complaint was the concern for women’s safety. In Valko’s trailer for the “Moonhowl Party” livestream, he is shown sitting on the MC’s balcony and entering her home. Many players felt uncomfortable with his invasive actions and called him an “intruder and a rapist,” which is a mix of overreaction and unfair characterization. This event could have happened after they met and were now acquainted with each other. He could have been out throwing hands one night and decided to come see MC after because he wanted to see his girl. There was no point in the trailer where Valko was shown being forceful with the MC. All he was doing was exploring her room, messing with her stuff, and cuddling with her like a big ol’ golden retriever. It was also very clear that the MC was not afraid or uncomfortable with him. They were messing and play fighting with each other, showing them as a playful but affectionate couple. Also, if we’re going to talk about women’s safety, may I remind the jury of Caleb’s storyline where he was holding MC hostage and allegedly drugging her to “keep her safe.” I know he had his reasons…but no.

Due to the growing wave of complaints from its Chinese fanbase, Infold dropped a letter to all Miss Hunters on the official Love and Deepspace Twitter account on June 30. In the letter, they announced that they had closely evaluated the feedback across all platforms from “the community” (aka the toxic fans) and admitted they had moved too fast introducing Valko before they were ready. They decided to officially cancel Valko’s release in Version 6.0 and would no longer consider adding or developing a sixth love interest for the game.