Just days after Papergames tried to cool down the ongoing Love and Deepspace controversy, the studio has gone a step further and removed Valko, also known as Ao Yin, from the game entirely. He was originally set to become the game's sixth male love interest, but that plan has now been scrapped for good. As things stand, the fallout from the last two weeks has grown well beyond a simple character complaint, pulling in questions of political sensitivity, cultural backlash, and even attention from state media in China.
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Valko's planned debut has been cancelled following weeks of backlash.
Because of the scale of the backlash, Valko has now been pulled from the game entirely. Papergames has also confirmed that future story plans have been rewritten so that no new love interests will be added going forward, meaning the five existing protagonists will remain the only romance options in Love and Deepspace from here on.
The Unit 731 controversy that escalated everything
On the surface, it looked like the backlash was simply about Valko's design, since his more Western-style werewolf look stood out from the rest of the cast. But according to longtime Chinese players, that explanation only scratches the surface. The real turning point was a discovery tied to Unit 731.
Fan datamining uncovered an in-game file reference that sparked the outrage.
Players found an in-game file labeled 0731, and the resemblance to Imperial Japan's Unit 731, the unit notorious for horrific biological and human experimentation during World War II, set off immediate alarm. The concern deepened when the same storyline was said to include further references tied to character names and themes involving injections, endurance testing, and forced control.
Papergames initially described the number as a random placeholder with no deeper meaning. That explanation didn't land well with a large portion of the player base, and the story reportedly drew coverage from several Chinese media outlets before the studio changed course.
Home 2.0 teaser sparking women's safety concerns
A second wave of criticism came from promotional material tied to Valko and the upcoming Home 2.0 feature. A number of players felt the teaser romanticized themes around unlawful intrusion and personal safety, and state media outlets echoed that criticism, warning against framing potentially dangerous behavior as a romantic fantasy. Some comparisons to a real-world case briefly circulated online, though those claims were quickly debunked.
Papergames later said the promotional material had been misread and pulled it down. That was likely never the intent, since Love and Deepspace has spent years building a reputation as a space where female players feel genuinely safe, heard, and put first.
Following the backlash, Papergames issued a new apology to players, confirming that Valko's release has been cancelled permanently. The studio also promised that no further love interests will be introduced in future updates, shifting the focus back onto the five existing protagonists.
What happens next for Love and Deepspace
Despite Valko's removal, Papergames says the rest of the version 6.0 roadmap is moving forward as planned. Here's what players can expect:
- Home 2.0, the AR Photobooth feature, and upcoming memory events will still launch on schedule.
- Players will be compensated with 30 free Deepspace Wishes, distributed over 30 days.
- No additional love interests will be added to the game going forward.
- Story content originally written around Valko has reportedly been reworked.
Even with the compensation and the apology, a large number of players remain unhappy about how the storyline was handled and about expectations that ultimately went unmet.
- 1 Papergames discovered the 0731 file backlash and pulled Valko's related content from the game.
- 2 The studio removed the Home 2.0 teaser after criticism from players and state media.
- 3 Valko's launch was cancelled permanently, and the future roadmap was rewritten around the existing five love interests.
- 4 Papergames issued a formal apology and announced compensation for affected players.
What comes next for Love and Deepspace is still an open question. Papergames has made significant concessions, apologized more than once, and reworked its roadmap, but rebuilding player trust after a controversy of this size will take more than a single update cycle. The studio has already lost a noticeable chunk of its social following, and whether it can hold onto its player base long-term is something worth watching closely in the months ahead.
