Infinity Nikki’s Infold believes there’s ‘untapped demand’ for non-violent big budget games
The Paper Games label discusses its recent success expanding globally, and what it’s learned
Following the success of its popular dress-up and romance sim games, Infinity Nikki and Love and Deepspace, Infold Games believes there’s untapped demand for non-violent games in the triple-A space.
Infold is the international subsidiary of Chinese publisher Paper Games. Headquartered in Singapore, and with offices in Los Angeles, Tokyo, among others, the company says it was established with the aim of better catering to global players of its games.
Infinity Nikki, the fifth instalment in the popular dress-up game and the first outside of mobile, launched a year ago and quickly amassed over 20 million downloads.
Meanwhile, romance sim Love and Deepspace launched in early 2024 and boasts over 70 million global players, according to the company, and has repeatedly topped free and grossing charts in countries including the United States.
According to Infold, the player base for these games is more global than ever (Sensor Tower data suggests that, on mobile platforms, around half of its players are now outside of its home market of China), which it says is partly driven by an increasing appeal for big-budget non-violent, relationship-driven, and “cozy” experiences.
“Our own experience with Love and Deepspace and Infinity Nikki demonstrates that non-violent, emotionally driven games can reach large Western audiences and perform strongly commercially,” Leo Zhu, global PR manager, told VGC.
“Historically, the West associated non-violent successes with indie titles; what’s changing is that larger-scale, high-production non-violent games are now finding mainstream adoption and critical attention. Those examples suggest the market is far from saturated. There’s strong demand for high-quality, relationship-driven and cozy experiences at scale.”
According to Infold, the success of both Nikki and Deepspace is rooted in its decision to establish publishing and localisation teams in other countries and make an effort to meet fans face-to-face at shows such as Gamescom and Anime Expo.
This allowed the company to consider cultural adaptation beyond just text translation, Zhu said, including visual preferences, story beats, and even monetization expectations and UX conventions.
“Another challenge is perception and education,” they said. “Some Western players and press historically categorize dress-up/otome as ‘niche’ or ‘casual,’ so part of the work is showing the depth and production values behind modern titles.”
One effort Infold made to better appeal to Western players unfamiliar with the Love series was to position the game as a “romance simulation”, rather than its traditional Japanese genre label of “Otome”.
“This better reflects the game’s cinematic combat, emotional storytelling, and emphasis on agency-driven relationships,” Zhu explained.
While both Infold’s recent launches remain hugely popular, they’ve not been without their challenges. Notably, though Infinity Nikki enjoyed a massive launch, it’s faced criticism since from players frustrated by its slow rollout of bug fixes and new features – something Zhu acknowledges as a learning point.
“What exceeded expectations was player acceptance of the core concept: many players embraced an open-world, non-violent game where dressing and exploration are central. That appetite for a cozy, exploratory experience was larger than we’d forecast,” they said.
“The unforeseen side was how high players’ expectations would be for every post-launch update. Communities demanded major polish and feature depth from each patch, which forced us to accelerate content pipelines and prioritize stability and quality in a way we hadn’t fully anticipated. In short: broad enthusiasm was quicker than expected; the scale of ongoing expectations was the surprise.”
Nintendo platforms 'attractive' to Nikki maker
“Nintendo platforms are definitely interesting and strategically attractive,” Infold told VGC. “Their hardware and audience skew toward family and casual players, which aligns well with non-violent, cozy or exploration titles. We are exploring cross-platform approaches and believe that thoughtfully adapted versions of our IPs could perform well on Nintendo platforms, but native console optimization and UX redesign are necessary considerations.”
According to Infold, Asia’s current purple patch in the triple-A games space, in perceived contrast to the number of closure and layoff stories seen in the Western games press, shows the value of sustained investment in its creatives.
“We see today’s global game industry as being shaped by many different forces, from business models and market scale to a growing willingness to invest in long-term, content-driven products. In that sense, the recent success of many Asian developers reflects how diverse creative and commercial strategies can thrive in different regions.
“For us at Infold Games, our focus has always been on building meaningful, emotionally resonant experiences for players around the world. We continue to invest in artistic innovation, narrative depth, and technology to deliver games that feel both beautiful and heartfelt.
“Rather than reacting to short-term trends, we try to stay true to our creative philosophy and keep improving the quality and emotional value of our games. That’s what we believe will sustain long-term growth in a changing global market.”
