YALL I HAVE A CONNECTION TO SOMEONE WHO WORKS AT A GAME COMPANY!!!
The person said that life-Service games rely heavily on players belief, because those cn haters believed he’ll get cancelled after enough pressure and threats, shitfold did. Because we believe that bringing him back will bring shitfolds „success“ (and even more) back, he might be released later on (this is oversimplified but I hope you get what I mean).
Also the protests are SO WELL organized. The cn haters only sent out hate mails/packages but we have signed petitions, raised donations, made the #BringValkoBack super viral on X etc etc. those things are wayyy harder to ignore for companies than the hate speech from the cn „fandom“ earlier.
Also (playing devils advocate) companies can’t really distinguish the loudest voice from the largest group. When Valko was announced many people mostly liked him, but they didn’t post as much about him as the antis did. So let’s not hate shitfold as much y’all 😭.
But just like you said, releasing him later on is wayyyy easier than writing a whole new main story or other things they need to rework on (I forgot which ones they were omg😔)
Tbh take this with a grain of salt, the person is a dear friend of mine but they don’t work at a big company like infold nor do they have any otome games or ones where there are being characters released etc. ALSO THEY DONT PLAY THE GAME OR KNOW MUCH ABOUT IT, I RAMBLED ABOUT IT TO HIM!!! Nor am I a miss-know-it-all when it comes to these things but I hope this can shed some light on some ppls hope!!
Sorry if there are any spelling, grammar or punctuation errors English is not my first language but I tried my best!
I appreciate your news reports on this situation and adore your optimism!! Have a fresh summer :)
Thank you for the input, Anon! I hope you have a lovely summer as well <3
As Anon said, take this with a grain of salt, but I think they’re on the right track.
Looking at this from a PR/marketing perspective, Inflop is facing an absolute shitshow. Let me try to explain in simple terms.
I have a product. I announce the product. At first, everyone seems to hate my product. They even threaten me over it!! The media seems to hate it, even my own government is skeptical of it. So, I cancel production.
My fans, who were much quieter at the beginning, suddenly become much louder. Now, everyone wants my product. It’s trending on social media, there are petitions to get it back, and people are donating to charity in the name of my product.
But, I’ve already stopped production. I’ve already committed to cancelling my product, despite putting a lot of money and time into it. I’ve already put a massive obstacle in between production and release. Now, I have to figure out how to cancel the cancellation in a way that won’t make me look like I’m easily influenced so that I can maintain my reputation.
I have to weigh the pros and cons. Will the haters come back and threaten me again? Will I still have support when the product releases? Will I make my money back if I do release it? Is it worth the potential struggle?
There’s a lot that goes into corporate decision-making, especially in a country like China. Their government controls everything. Literally. So, with that being said, they have a lot of bullshit to figure out before they can come to a final decision.
In my personal opinion, their best long-term solution is to delay Valko’s release, rectify the issues that caused this fiasco in the first place, stabilize their reputation, then release Valko when the circumstances allow. I would truly be floored if they didn’t move forward with his release—especially from a marketing perspective. They need the revenue he can generate, and they need to make sure they maintain a good international reputation.
The entire gaming industry is watching them now. Every China-based gaming company is on the edge of their seats, because they know that this situation could make or break the entire industry. This isn’t just about Valko or a protest—this is about global consumers trusting Chinese companies, and that trust is waning fast.