Love and Deepspace dev cancels new love interest amid fan backlash

1 hour ago 2

Published Jun 30, 2026, 12:06 PM EDT

Love and Deepspace's new love interest was met with extreme backlash from the community

Valko from Love and Deepsapce standing and grabbing a weapon from his back

Eight days after announcing a new love interest, the team behind otome game Love and Deepspace is canceling development of the character. Valko, who would have been the sixth love interest in the romance gacha game from Infinity Nikki developer Papergames, was met with a wave of backlash, and now the studio is rolling back its plans in response.

Valko was announced in a trailer posted to the game's official YouTube channel on June 22. The latest heartthrob was described as the EonCore Tech chairman and mysterious head of the werewolf clan, and was set to launch in Version 6.0 on July 9. Valko would be the first new love interest the game has received since Version 3.0 introduced Caleb in January 2025. The immediate reaction to Valko's reveal was not good.

The reason for the backlash stems from Love and Deepspace players feeling the introduction of a new love interest was misguided when the current love interests have not received meaningful updates in a long time. The focus on new love interests could potentially mean older ones would be pushed aside when it came to content updates. In the wake of Valko's announcement, Love and Deepspace's social media accounts reportedly lost a substantial number of followers and received a rash of negative comments. Some disgruntled fans even went as far as protesting the character's release by putting cow dung inside company lockers, according to one report.

In response to fan outcry, Love and Deepspace developer Papergames and publisher Infold Games announced that development on Valko has permanently ended. The developer said, "Because of our actions, the joy you should have found in Linkon City became a source of distress, and the feelings you hold most dear were hurt. We are deeply sorry for the hurt and disappointment we have caused."

In addition to the cancellation of Valko, Papergames announced that the studio is committing to no additional love interests in the future. While that might sound like the exact opposite of what players want out of a game focused around new exciting characters, it actually feels like a promising decision. Fans were specifically complaining that love interests weren't getting meaningful updates. Hopefully, now development can focus on expanding the experience available with the current game's cast.

The post also lays out further ways Love and Deepspace's creators plan to respond to fan backlash. While development on Valko is canceled, all other systems and features scheduled for release in Version 6.0 will remain intact. Outfits, photo poses, and the Nighthush Box, planned as rewards for a Valko-focused event, will instead be sent directly to players for free. For the next 30 days, players will also receive one Deepspace Wish per day which can be used on the game's gacha system. Finally, the developer has committed to focusing on the game's current love interests and main story. In the immediate future, Papergames plans the following updates:

Rafayel's new Solar-Slot Memories and Companion will be revealed in July. Farspace Colonel Caleb and Onychinus Leader Sylus will also return in their Main Story branches in September and November, respectively.

Love and Deepspace is available on Android and iOS devices. Version 6.0 will be released on July 9.