Love and Deepspace just had its worst financial month to date, as the dating gacha sim’s revenue has cratered. While it was pulling in around $30 – $60 million in revenue every month (per Sensor Data), July saw the game make a noticeably smaller amount of cash, to the tune of $10.3 million. That’s a massive 73% drop when compared to June 2026 ($38 million), and the fall can all be traced back to the announcement–and subsequent cancellation–of Valko, who would have been the game’s sixth love interest.
In comparison, top gacha games like Genshin Impact, Honkai: Star Rail, and Zenless Zone Zero–all produced by HoyoVerse–continue to dominate the revenue charts, with ZZZ in particular rocketing up from 15th place to third place in July.
You’d think that revealing an occasionally furry love interest wouldn’t result in a fandom being ripped apart, but you’d be wrong. Valko proved to be a polarizing figure, as the ruggedly handsome tech CEO and werewolf clan leader has half the Love and Deepspace community baying for his blood, while the other half is actively boycotting and petitioning for developer Papergames to officially add him to the gacha Otome game.
Valko dissenters have cited concerns that a new character will take developer attention away from the game’s main story and established love interests, while those for Valko argue Eastern beauty standards led to his swift dismissal.
Things got even worse for Papergames, as it decided to pull its booth from one of the largest anime and gaming conventions in Asia, BilliBilli World 2026. The Chinese Government has also gotten involved, taking aim at Valko’s promotional slogans that could be perceived as problematic and promoting home intrusions and sexual assault. “What’s wrong with letting a wolf into the house?” the text for Valko reads, after he was shown
“This kind of entertainment-driven, traffic-driven creative work disregards public order and morality, crosses legal boundaries, and may ultimately endanger public safety,” a representative from the Ministry of Public Security News and Media wrote. Since then, characters and storylines were removed and are in the process of being re-certified, as the Chinese government holds considerable power over what it allows in and out of the country when it comes to entertainment.
The government is also treating Love and Deepspace as a warning to other game studios, saying that any content that “deliberately blurs the lines of illegality, glorifies dangerous behavior, or undermines public safety” will face removal. The writing might be on the wall for Papergames, as it looks like its community is ready to break up with Love and Deepspace.
