Despite a passionate campaign from fans, the maker of the romance game Love and Deepspace appears to be – at least for now – sticking with its decision to exclude the new love interest Valko from the latest update. The character, originally due for release on July 9, was canceled after a negative reaction from a vocal part of the player base in China. Global players banded together to post on social media, create fan art, and donate to good causes in Valko's name in the hopes of getting him back, and expectations were high in the community that its efforts could see him arrive on July 9 after all.

After the update, fans discovered that Valko had not been added and that on the character selection screen, where there had previously been a "coming soon" label, there was now a blank space. Player reactions range from heartbroken to angry to hopeful, along with calls to continue the campaign to bring him back. There are also unsubstantiated leaks that appear to reveal the core role Valko would have played in the game's storyline and rumors that certain cutscenes are being censored for their suggestive content.

all of this mess bc part of the fandom didn’t want valko. now the whole game is censored, schedule nonexistent, update useless and nothing would be the same ever again. their selfishness really took this beautiful game away from us. i’m devastated

— sara🐢 | #BringValkoBack (@misssarahunter) July 9, 2026

forever grateful to everyone who loved valko and stood up for the character a whole dev team created with so much passion. money was raised in wolf conservation centres and a lot of good was done. so much art was shared, so many writings and discussions, and a lot of love.

— sun (@bunzayne) July 9, 2026

Valko haters: sending manure to the office, bullying and harassing Infold employees, write insults

Valko girls: They donate to shelters, buy billboards, flowers, and chocolate, write about their love for Chinese culture and Valko.

love is stronger than hate#bringbackvalko

— モルズ 🐺 (@SakuBestBoy) July 4, 2026

Infold had not posted on its official X account since July 1, but last night broke its silence to address problems some users had been having downloading the new update.

The original decision to abort Valko's addition to the game was announced on June 30 just a week after he was revealed and following a long teaser campaign that foreshadowed his arrival. In an official statement to players, Infold not only shared its decision to cut Valko but also stated, "No additional love interests will be introduced in future content plans."

The game currently has five love interests, and Valko was to be the sixth. His addition was planned to be part of the Version 6 update of the game along with updates to the Home 2.0 and AR Photobooth features. The rewards that the company had planned as rewards for the Valko-focused Hunt In Linkon event were instead distributed to players for free via in-game mail, along with free Deepspace Wishes.

"After reflecting on recent events, we recognize that we moved forward with the introduction of Valko before we were truly ready," said the official statement.

"In doing so, we let down the players who have supported us from the start, and we also fell short of delivering the experience that players anticipating Valko deserved."

The issue appears to have been further complicated by Chinese government intervention. The Ministry of Public Security News and Media put out a statement condemning one scene from the game's marketing that showed Valko appearing on the main character's balcony. "This kind of entertainment-driven, traffic-driven creative work disregards public order and morality, crosses legal boundaries, and may ultimately endanger public safety."

Many players noted that Love and Deepspace had actually helped to teach them about Chinese mythology and culture, thanks to various in-game events and storylines.

As the controversy rages on, Infold has canceled fan events in both China and Japan and issued another public apology on the official Love and Deepspace account on Xiaohongshu (RedNote):

Recently, Love and Deepspace has attracted widespread public attention. This has caused significant distress to all of our players and created negative impacts. We feel deeply ashamed.

We have no excuses. We will engage in serious self-reflection, confront our own shortcomings directly, take responsibility proactively, and extend our sincerest apologies to everyone.

Regarding the issues that have been brought to light, we sincerely accept criticism and oversight from all sectors of society. We will not evade responsibility. We will take respect for history, protection of national and ethnic sentiments, and the preservation of Chinese culture as our guiding principles, and will comprehensively carry out staff training as well as internal review and self-correction.

Love and Deepspace has five existing love interests, and it seems it will stay that way for the foreseeable future. The game launched in January 2024 with three, Rayfael, Xavier, and Zayne, with Sylus joining the lineup in July 2024 and Caleb in January 2025. Last May, AppMagic noted the game had seen more than 31 million downloads and put user spending at over $1 billion.

Rachel Weber is the Head of Editorial Development at IGN and an elder millennial. She's been a professional nerd since 2006 when she got her start on Official PlayStation Magazine in the UK, and has since worked for GamesIndustry.Biz, Rolling Stone and GamesRadar. She loves horror, horror movies, horror games, Red Dead Redemption 2, and her Love and Deepspace boyfriends.