It's officially the second day without Valko, and I was hoping I'd wake up to find out this was just some really bad PR stunt or something... but nope.
They've removed the vids from yt, the banners from most other platforms, and almost everything about our wolfie.
Though I'm not here to add more salt to the wound, I actually came across a few posts on twt suggesting that thisâ whatever crisis going on at the momentâ is much bigger than we initially thought.
And unfortunately Valko became the scapegoatâ whom everyone was pointing fingers atâ when he was NEVER THE PROBLEM.
Just to clarify, take a look at this article:
The controversy escalated further when the game's supplementary story text, "Deep in the World," listed the file number for human drug trials as "A-0731." Coupled with the fact that the character's name, "IwasĆ," sounds similar to the historical figure "Yoshio Iwamatsu," the game was criticized for exploiting the historical trauma of the Japanese Imperial Army's Unit 731 during its invasion of China.
Faced with public pressure, the game development team issued a statement apologizing, clarifying that the character "Ao Yin" was an early concept and the "inviting the wolf into the house" tagline was designed to match his werewolf identity and had no other intention. Regarding the potentially misleading numbers, the team stated they were randomly generated and would be modified as soon as possible. Numerous netizens left comments under the official statement, questioning the excessive coincidences and demanding the game be removed from app stores or refunds.
Now, I don't necessarily think the possibility of the game being removed is ever the issue here. I think the overwhelming public backlash and the damage to InFold's image pushed them into panic mode, and Valko's cancellation became the quickest way to contain the situation.
As I said before, people sadly ended up pointing the blame at a bunch of pixels with dialogueâ a much easier target than the writing decisions or the company itself.
And honestly? I don't think threats of lawsuits or escalating the situation by involving more authorities are helping them calm things down either.
Don't get me wrong. I'm honestly touched by how dedicated everyone is to bringing our pup back. But looking at everything from a different perspective, I can't help feeling like the company's crisis management is failing miserably.
Of course, none of that excuses the complete lack of proper clarification or how hard they're trying to normalize everything right nowâ running events, posting server reminders, and carrying on as if nothing happened.
They should've been more in touch with the fanbaseâ and I sincerely hope this experience taught them just that.
If that's really how this ends... I'm honestly not sure I'll come back to the game after getting a glimpse of a character who somehow became my favorite before I even got the chance to know his story or interact with him.
You can't just introduce such a wonderful characterâ one who was clearly meant to push the story forwardâ and then deny players the chance to meet him ten days before his debut.
