Love and Deepspace found itself in hot water after its official social media account posted fictional cocktail recipes featuring poisonous plants, which forced the developers to slap a safety warning on the whole mess. The incident arrived months after a much bigger firestorm over the cancellation of a new love interest named Valko. Who thought mixing romance and toxic botanicals was a good idea?
A Cocktail Recipe for Disaster
On September 28, 2026, the official Love and Deepspace account shared five Shimmering Blend cocktail recipes themed around the game’s romanceable characters. The garnishes were the problem. Some recipes called for datura and flame lily, both of which are seriously toxic to humans. The post was supposed to be harmless in-game flavor content, but fans caught on fast to the real-world danger.
Datura is a psychoactive plant that can trigger delirium, hallucinations, fever, and tachycardia. Flame Lily, also known as Gloriosa, contains colchicine, a chemical that can kill you, causing severe vomiting, diarrhea, and even hypovolemic shock. Fans swarmed the replies with alarm.
One commenter wrote, “Delete this. This is literal poison. Nobody make this,” while another warned, “Don’t try to recreate these drinks; they contain toxic plants!” The developers scrambled to add a safety notice to the post: “All drinks shown are fictional and for in-game purposes only. Do not attempt to recreate or consume them in reality.” Love and Deepspace learned the hard way that not every pretty flower belongs in a glass.
A Werewolf Who Never Howled
The cocktail fiasco arrived months after an even bigger uproar had already burned over Valko, also known as Ao Yin, a werewolf-themed character announced as the game’s sixth love interest in June 2026. His debut was set for July 9, but the announcement sparked fierce backlash, especially among the Chinese player base. Players argued that the existing five love interests, Caleb, Rafayel, Sylus, Xavier, and Zayne, had gone way too long without fresh story content.
Tossing in a sixth character would only thin out resources and make gacha pull rates even worse. The situation blew up into real-world protests, with reports of fans gathering outside Infold’s offices in China, shipping cow dung and funeral chrysanthemums to the company, and the game shedding nearly 1 million followers on Chinese social media.
On June 30, 2026, developer Infold announced it was canceling Valko entirely, saying they had “moved forward with the introduction of Valko before we were truly ready.” The studio also promised “no additional love interests” down the road, focusing instead on the five characters already in play. Love and Deepspace fans proved they do not mess around when their fictional boyfriends are on the line.
A Fandom Divided Against Itself
That decision split the community right down the middle. Some players felt relieved, but plenty of others, especially in the global and Japanese markets, were downright disappointed and launched petitions like #BringBackValko, which racked up tens of thousands of signatures.
Fans even built shrines and memorials to the canceled character, flooding social media with tributes. Love and Deepspace became a case study in what happens when a passionate player base feels ignored. The whole saga showed just how high emotions run in this fandom.
Love and Deepspace Cannot Catch a Break
In short, the cocktail post was a reckless social media misstep that required an official warning, while the Valko cancellation remains a defining controversy that highlights ongoing tensions between Love and Deepspace’s developers and its passionate player base. The game keeps making headlines for all the wrong reasons. Love and Deepspace might want to hire a fact-checker and a crisis manager before the next post goes live.
Where to Check Out All Things Entertainment, Gaming, and Current Affairs
Social Media from David Gilbert
My Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
Don't stop here
Every Score. Every Story. One Home.
Breaking sports, entertainment and news from across the Total Apex network, updated all day.
Get the Full Story →
