Love and Deepspace controversy grows as Caleb trailer follows revenue slide

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Infold returns with Caleb, not a Valko statement

Infold has resumed posting on its Love and Deepspace social channels after roughly a month of silence, but its first major move was not an explanation of the Valko cancellation. As Siliconera reported, the company returned with a trailer and banner details for Caleb: Summer Surge, a limited five-star memory scheduled to run from August 5 to August 14, 2026.

That timing is the sharpest concrete development in the ongoing Love and Deepspace controversy. Infold is putting a familiar love interest back at center stage while leaving the loudest questions around Valko unanswered. Siliconera noted that the Caleb announcement did not include a broader statement about the game’s roadmap, the cancellation of the sixth love interest, or the international player outcry that has followed.

The trailer gives the live-service machine a clean, marketable beat: Caleb, summer imagery, basketball, a limited memory, and a short banner window. In a calmer month, that would be standard gacha pacing. In this one, it lands like a cut from one scene to the next before the previous conflict has been resolved. The Love and Deepspace Caleb trailer is now carrying a burden that a character banner usually cannot carry by itself: it is the first sign of how Infold wants the game to move forward after Valko.

A limited Caleb banner arrives where players expected clarity

According to Siliconera, the Caleb: Summer Surge limited five-star memory will not enter the general pool after the event ends. The associated Summertime Blessing wish rewards include the Leap & Dunk outfit, the Rule Reversal hat, and the Lingering Moment photo pose. Siliconera reported that the outfit is limited, while the pose and hat will later join the Lunar Shop.

Those are normal details for a Love and Deepspace banner, but the context is not normal. Siliconera also reported that the Caleb release breaks an established and promised schedule by arriving ahead of a previously announced Rafayel Myth. Infold’s own follow-up banner information, as described by Siliconera, did not explain why the order changed.

That matters in practical terms for players deciding whether to spend. Love and Deepspace is a free-to-play mobile otome game with a wish system, according to the game’s public description on Wikipedia, where players draw memories tied to companions. The same overview notes that special “myth” stories are accessed through limited-run memories and can contain important plot information connected to the protagonist and companions. When a limited memory is tied to story access, calendar trust becomes part of the purchase decision.

Infold’s Caleb banner may satisfy Caleb fans who want new content during a dry spell, but it also raises a schedule question the company has not publicly answered in the cited materials: when, or whether, the previously signaled Rafayel Myth arrives in the form players expected.

Valko split the audience before he ever joined the roster

The Love and Deepspace Valko dispute began with a roster move. Must Share News reported that Infold announced Valko, known as Ao Yin in the Chinese version, during a June 22 livestream. He was planned as the game’s sixth love interest for Version 6.0, which was expected on July 9. On June 30, according to the same report, Infold said it had decided to cancel both the launch and further development of the new love interest, and said no new love interests would be added in the future.

Polygon reported that the original reveal immediately divided the community. Some players, particularly in China, argued that adding a sixth route ignored demand for deeper updates to the existing love interests. GameSpot similarly reported that Valko dissenters worried a new character would pull developer attention away from the main story and the established cast.

Supporters framed the cancellation differently. GameSpot reported that pro-Valko players argued Eastern beauty standards contributed to his swift dismissal, while Polygon described the post-cancellation backlash as especially strong among international fans who believed Papergames had prioritized Chinese player preferences. Multiple outlets reported that “Bring back Valko” campaigns spread across social media after the cancellation.

This is where the story’s emotional pacing changes. Love and Deepspace is built around attachment, routine, and spending on character moments. The Valko conflict turned those attachments against each other. One group saw him as a threat to existing routes. Another saw his removal as a broken promise and a retreat from a character they were ready to support.

The backlash has moved beyond ordinary fandom churn

The response to Valko’s cancellation has kept growing outside the game client. Siliconera reported that fans created a Letters for Valko website for messages of support. The same report said a GoFundMe in Valko’s name for the wolf sanctuary Extinción Cero had passed 78,850 Mexican pesos as of August 2, 2026. Siliconera also cited ongoing petitions, with an iPetitions campaign above 251,300 signatures and a Change.org petition above 98,210 at the time of writing. Rapper bbno$ also drew attention to the petitions while cosplaying the character alongside others dressed as Love and Deepspace cast members, according to Siliconera.

There has also been pressure from outside the fan campaign. GameSpot reported that Papergames pulled its booth from Bilibili World 2026, one of Asia’s largest anime and gaming conventions. Polygon and GameSpot both reported that China’s Ministry of Public Security addressed Valko’s promotional material, criticizing the perception that the storyline or advertising blurred lines around home intrusion and sexual assault. GameSpot quoted the ministry-linked statement as saying that entertainment-driven creative work that disregards public order and morality, crosses legal boundaries, and may endanger public safety would face consequences.

Those government comments are a separate signal from player sentiment. The sources do not confirm a future path for Valko, and Papergames has not announced one in the provided material. What is confirmed is that the public pressure now runs on several tracks at once: angry players, organized pro-Valko campaigns, regulatory criticism in China, and a publisher attempting to restart promotion without reopening the central dispute.

Revenue reports suggest the controversy is hitting spending

The spending data is the hardest business signal so far. GameSpot reported that Love and Deepspace had its worst financial month to date in July 2026, citing Sensor Data figures that put the month at $10.3 million. GameSpot compared that with $38 million in June, describing the month-to-month change as a 73% drop. Polygon also reported that Sensor Data showed July revenue just over $10 million, after June revenue closer to $40 million, and noted that prior monthly revenue had not fallen below $30 million.

Those figures are not an Infold or Papergames earnings release in the provided sources. They are third-party revenue-tracker data reported by GameSpot and Polygon. Still, the direction is difficult to ignore. The drop coincides with the Valko reveal, cancellation, regulatory attention, and player boycott calls.

The safest reading is that spending appears to be falling because player confidence has taken damage at the exact point where a gacha game needs confidence most. Love and Deepspace revenue depends on players believing the next limited banner, the next route, and the next myth are worth saving for or paying for. The Valko cancellation told some players that a character can disappear after being promoted. The Caleb banner’s arrival ahead of a previously expected Rafayel Myth, as reported by Siliconera, adds another question about schedule reliability.

GameSpot drew a direct line from the revenue crater to the Valko announcement and cancellation. Polygon used more cautious language, saying the drop likely relates to the controversy. Based on the sourced material, the timeline supports a strong correlation, but the exact split between boycott behavior, ordinary banner timing, player fatigue, regional spending differences, and post-controversy hesitation has not been publicly broken down by Infold.

Caleb gives Infold a playable beat, but the route map is still missing

For players, the immediate facts are clear. Love and Deepspace remains available on Android and iOS. Caleb: Summer Surge is scheduled for August 5 through August 14, 2026, according to Siliconera’s report on Infold’s posts. The limited memory will not enter the general pool after the banner ends, and its outfit reward is also limited. Anyone who specifically wants that Caleb memory has a short window.

The larger buying question is less clean. Infold has not, in the provided sources, issued a new roadmap explaining the Rafayel Myth timing, future myth cadence, or any reconsideration of Valko. It has not publicly reconciled the promise to focus on the existing five love interests with the scheduling disruption players are now seeing. It has also not addressed the revenue reports.

As an answer to the Love and Deepspace controversy, the Caleb trailer is a controlled set-piece: familiar character, limited stakes, clean event window, no messy dialogue with the audience. As a recovery plan, it is incomplete. The game’s next challenge is not whether a single Caleb memory can sell. It is whether Infold Love and Deepspace players still trust the rhythm of the live service enough to keep spending after a month that turned a character cancellation into a revenue story.