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Cosmopolitan
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Love and Deepspace Review 2025: Am I Falling for Xavier?
Late last year, I saw an ad on TikTok for a story-based romance video game called Love and Deepspace, a dating simulation otome game, a Japanese term that translates to 'maiden game.' It's targeted to women and follows a female main character who has lived dozens of lifetimes in a futuristic reality full of monsters called Wanderers. The twist? As you try to figure out the truth of the main character's many lives, you encounter five men she's had romantic connections with in her past. You go on dinner dates that turn into steamy encounters, you flirt over text, and at one point, you even fight battles in an alternate world. Thanks to aggressive marketing on TikTok and some sexy billboards in hot spots like Times Square, Love and Deepspace has become one of the biggest titles around the world. According to Sensor Tower, the game made $65.6 million in April 2025 alone. Love and Deepspace creator Infold Games revealed that 50 million players have joined the game in its first year. This was my first proper otome game and from the moment I downloaded it, I was hooked. It was so…simple. The relationships were established. The main character and her five boyfriends were soulmates. And even when the boyfriends end up in cages because they've been affected by a disease that makes them sexually feral, their history and loving characteristics were always still there. There were no hassles around dating and figuring out where we stand. The hard part of falling in love was gone. This could not be further from my actual dating experience. No matter how many times I reactivate my dating app profiles or attempt to talk to someone at a bar, I just never can seem to take dating seriously. It takes so much time and effort to find someone special. I don't have a long list of must-haves or wants. I'm simply looking for someone to put me first, take a genuine interest in me, and make a decision or two instead of saying, 'It's up to you.' While I'm known as the romance queen with my love for the genre in books (I'm an editor for Cosmo Reads, our romance imprint), TV, and movies, I've never actually felt wanted or desired by anyone before. So I figure if it's never happened, why chase it? And yet, here I was 'talking' to five different guys. The love interests in the game (Xavier, Zayne, Rafayel, Sylus, and Caleb) all have their distinct personalities, jobs, and storylines. The main character is not exactly dating them all at the same time, but rather the user is going through five different storylines. This means that each time I open the game, there's something different. Want to play with a virtual claw machine to win some plushies? One of the guys will use their special powers to help you. Need to study or work out? They'll be right by your side, motivating you along the way. Some memories feature romantic moments like the first time you spent the night together. You can even listen to recorded audio that includes spicy double entendres. One of my favorite moments in the game isn't a date at all. In one of Sylus's storylines, the main character comes to one of his houses (yes, he has multiple homes for his own safety because he runs a black-market organization) after getting injured on a mission. He not only bandages her up, he also helps get rid of the enemies who are following her. Maybe it's because, as an eldest daughter, I'm usually the one taking care of everything and holding it all together. But seeing her getting protected, feeling safe, and fully trusting someone else? To me, there's nothing hotter. While I know these guys aren't real and that they're not actually interacting with me, the game does fill a void. Dating in New York City often consists of little more than one-night stands and basic conversations. It can feel impossible to get to know a person. The boys of Love and Deepspace, on the other hand, actually listen to the main character's problems and yearn for her. Chatting with them feels similar to the moment when my favorite 'ship gets together in a TV show or the enemies-to-lovers are forced to share a bed in the book I'm reading. Only this time, it feels tailor-made for me. That's because the main character, who I named Tammy (my nickname), looks like me. While fiction created a safe haven for me to experience romantic feelings through the eyes of different characters, as a 5-feet tall, size 12 Latina, there is almost no representation of women like me in these stories. In Love and Deepspace, however, I am the sexy, desired love interest. I am also a feisty fighter, unafraid to stand on my own and never deterred by monsters or even a bad day at work. Besides a confusing backstory about reincarnation, the character is a blank slate, which means almost anyone can place themselves in her shoes. You know that you're not actually her, but when a sexy doctor is confessing his love, well, you start to get some feelings. That's not to say that I'm actually falling in love with these guys nor do I feel like they could ever replace an actual dating life, but the game give me something my romantic side has always longed for. It's also a lot easier to stay in bed, log onto my account, and replay one of their scenes than find an actual person on a dating app to go on a very likely disappointing date with. I am definitely not the only person who feels this way. High spenders in the game get special VIP perks including a gift box with 'handwritten notes' from the love interests and many women have said they'd rather spend their money on the guys in the game than go on actual dates. In China, where the game originates, players have the option to talk to the guys via their microphone and get AI-generated responses. It's another example of AI as an open, nonjudgmental ear for our problems. Some players say the game has helped them realize what they were missing in their own real-life relationships. According to one redditor, the game helped them learn what it 'means to be loved and treasured.' Some players are lobbying for the game to be rated 17+ so they can get even more explicit (it's currently rated 12+ in the Apple Game Store). While, for me, the game won't be an actual replacement for dating, it did help me realize that when it comes to relationships I want more of that yearning. I want a supportive partner who will be with me in both the good and the bad. I want someone who truly loves me for me. Who is excited for my wins and can comfort me during my losses. It even showed me that while I love dark, broody characters in fiction, I might actually be interested in shy, sunny personalities IRL. It also showed me that I deserve someone who desires me and it gave me hope that someone might be out there. It took the main character several lifetimes to be able to find the loves of her life again, so I can definitely be patient. In the meantime, I'll be playing with my five fictional boyfriends. So if you happen to be a hot cardiac surgeon named Zayne, well, I've been waiting for you.
Business Recorder
20-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
inDrive reshapes ride-hailing landscape
ISLAMABAD: inDrive, a global mobility and urban services platform, has reshaped the ride-hailing landscape in Pakistan with its pioneering 'Set Your Fare and Choose Your Driver' model, giving passengers full control over their ride experience. Unlike other ride-hailing apps where pricing is driven by automated algorithms, inDrive offers a fresh, human-centric approach. Passengers can propose their own fare and choose a driver based on key criteria such as ratings, vehicle type, estimated time of arrival, and distance. This unique model ensures greater freedom, transparency, and fairness – enabling both customers and drivers to make informed, mutually beneficial decisions. Muhammad Awais, Country Lead at inDrive Pakistan, said: 'Since its launch in Pakistan in 2021, inDrive has expanded to 20 cities for local rides. We were the first to introduce the 'Set Your Fare and Choose Your Driver' model in the country – and the response has been incredible. Pakistani users appreciate the flexibility to negotiate fares and personalize their ride options according to their preferences. This level of autonomy has helped build trust and foster a strong sense of community on our platform. It's one of the key reasons inDrive has become the second most downloaded ride-hailing app globally and the fifth most downloaded app in the travel category.' inDrive's commitment to fairness and inclusivity has earned it global recognition. According to leading market intelligence firm Sensor Tower, inDrive was ranked as the second-most downloaded ride-hailing app worldwide for the third consecutive year and secured the fifth spot in the global travel app category. In December 2024 alone, the app was downloaded over 6.1 million times globally, reflecting its growing appeal across diverse markets. 'inDrive is built on fairness, creating an ecosystem where both passengers and drivers thrive. They decide the price and choose their ride themselves. This is why our users – both passengers and drivers – love us. Every ride with inDrive is a happy ride,' he added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
South China Morning Post
18-05-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Trade war fallout: Chinese e-commerce firms intensify push for Europe's shoppers
Parisian Clémence Piteux has noticed a change on her social media feed recently – a significant uptick in advertisements by Chinese e-commerce platforms. Advertisement 'I don't think I'm their target audience but I still see more advertisements than before,' she told the Post on Thursday, pointing to a recent collaboration between Shein and a famous French influencer. 'They are definitely very eager,' Piteux said, but she remains sceptical about the strategy. In May, Chinese e-commerce platforms Shein and Temu launched more intense marketing campaigns in Europe amid lingering trade uncertainties between China and the United States. Compared to April, Shein and Temu both increased advertising spending on the continent – recording a 40 per cent and 30 per cent jump respectively over the first twelve days of May, according to data sent to the Post by Sensor Tower, a market intelligence firm. Advertisement Year on year, Shein's advertising spending in Europe surged by 70 per cent over the same period. The biggest jump was in the United Kingdom, with a 135 per cent rise, according to the data.
The Star
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
'Genshin Impact' creator dives into AI for growth beyond games
For decades, Chinese video games and American gamers just didn't mix. US audiences were receptive to all manner of weird and wonderful experiences, from Finnish Angry Birds to Japanese Pokémon , but sidestepped anything coming out of China. That was until Genshin Impact arrived five years ago with two dozen plucky anime characters that fought monsters and took on quests. The HoYoverse production was an instant hit and went on to earn about US$6.2bil (RM26.64bil) from smartphone players purchasing the chance to win alluring fighters and their magical weapons, according to data from Sensor Tower. HoYoverse, the international brand for Shanghai-based Mihoyo Co, has had an unprecedented hit rate with its anime-inspired fantasy games. It followed Genshin Impact with Honkai: Star Rail and, in 2024, Zenless Zone Zero , a trio of games that's collectively generated more than US$8.4bil (RM36.09bil) on mobile, per Sensor Tower. But recently, its titles have begun to cannibalise each other. With each new release, HoYoverse's audience migrated and the prior game's mobile revenue roughly halved in the two subsequent quarters. Sales at the closely held company fell 23% to US$4.7bil (RM20.20bil) in 2024, according to data from Niko Partners. The need for fresh ideas is clear and urgent. As HoYoverse plots its next step toward growth, the answer will have to come from something other than cute warriors and selling tokens for in-game lotteries. Billionaire co-founder Cai Haoyu, now in his late 30s, stepped aside from running HoYoverse to help discover the answer. He's segueing his video game success into a separate, California-based artificial intelligence startup called Anuttacon, where he's researching the use of cutting-edge technologies to develop nontraditional interactive media. The move in late 2023 was presented at the time as helping to "adapt to the company's future development needs', though a HoYoverse representative told Bloomberg News the two are "entirely independent entities'. Cai has recruited about a dozen former HoYoverse employees for the startup, according to a LinkedIn analysis. His first project is a spacefaring video game where the player interacts with a cute girl whose dialogue is AI-generated. HoYoverse's slogan is "tech otakus save the world', referencing the Japanese slang for obsessive anime nerds. Employees boast of a fundamental optimism that the future's biggest problems are solvable with technology. Parent company Mihoyo has invested in everything from nuclear fusion technology and space rocket development to brain-computer interface technology. Its ambitious goal, according to an employee manual shared with Bloomberg News, is to create a virtual world that's "more real than reality' by 2030. HoYoverse compares itself to Apple Inc and Elon Musk's SpaceX, and claims that "We have never been a game company.' Still, games are HoYoverse's first step. For its upcoming titles, the company has poached top developers who have worked at Western companies like Ubisoft Entertainment SA and Electronic Arts Inc. It's building new open-world and farming-simulator games, according to current and former employees. That'll be a necessary departure from the anime role-playing genre – to expand the potential audience – but a risky one as HoYoverse tests new ground in an industry with flat revenue, diminishing hit rates and increasingly higher costs. The company's spokesperson declined to comment for this article, saying only that it contained several inaccuracies and unverified claims, without specifying or elaborating. As a student at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Cai dabbled in Flash games inspired by the iconic Japanese anime Neon Genesis Evangelion . In 2011, he teamed up with classmates Liu Wei and Luo Yuhao and established "MiHoYo' in a dorm room. The first two characters stood for mobile internet, while H and Y signified Haoyu and Yuhao. That's according to an exhaustive history of the company from local publication Game Grapes. In 2022, the company started going by HoYoverse. "A lot of Chinese gaming companies founded in the mid-2010s were from people who had grown up with those types of games that maybe weren't mainstream at the time,' Daniel Ahmad, director of research at Niko Partners, said of mobile anime games. "They wanted to go mainstream with those ideas.' Anime has exploded in recent years from a niche interest among deeply passionate aficionados to a mainstream hobby celebrated by the likes of rapper Megan Thee Stallion. Some 42% of Gen Z Americans watch anime weekly, according to a survey of more than 4,000 people by entertainment outlet Polygon. HoYoverse was poised to capitalise when anime's popularity surged. "Otaku have a strong inner need to communicate with girls, yet are afraid to act,' Liu said in one 2011 video, where he pitched a project involving "sweet, cute, kawaii pretty girls' to a room of potential investors with an excited energy. Otaku are "lonely and isolated people', and with the company's virtual characters, "we are here to meet such needs.' HoYoverse released games on that theme for years that earned downloads, prizes and investors. China's domestic video-game market has long been dominated by fast-paced mobile titles designed to entice players to continuously spend small sums of money. These games, much like their counterparts in Japan, typically involve purchasing digital currency – represented as sparkling diamonds, virtual gold coins or special keys – and spending it on a chance to win new characters or items. Westerners criticised this so-called gacha genre for its monetisation mechanics, which many consider predatory. On top of that, Chinese game makers had a reputation for cloning popular Western games – sometimes even before they were released. Genshin Impact received criticism on both fronts when it launched in 2020. It also achieved what no other Chinese game had done before: popularity in the US. The anime-style role-playing game drew from the world of 2017's The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild for its aesthetics, borrowed Grand Theft Auto 's surprise events system, and built its missions much in the fashion of Bethesda Softworks games like Skyrim , according to the Game Grapes report. To Western gamers, it felt both familiar and fresh. Its charismatic cast of characters lured in millions of players stuck at home during the pandemic, while its super-polished gameplay kept them coming back. Every six weeks, Genshin Impact gets new characters – a busty pirate or a mysterious prince – which players pay money to try and acquire. The game is free, but gamers build an emotional attachment to its fantasy universe and spend increasing amounts to build out their rosters with more virtual friends with varied fighting styles. HoYoverse expanded from 500 employees to more than 1,000 over Genshin's four-year incubation period, according to the Game Grapes report. Development cost US$100mil (RM429.70mil), significantly less than Western peers' flagship titles, according to the South China Morning Post . It grossed more than its cost in just two weeks. A month after its September 2020 debut, it was the No 1 mobile game by global consumer spending, according to Sensor Tower. Cai led the game's development. Aspiring Chinese game developers applied to work at HoYoverse en masse. The company prefers to hire younger people, even right out of college, who the founders feel are more in touch with the target consumers, according to current employees and the company's manual. The workers refer to each other as "classmates' and have been known to stay late into the night working in the company's Shanghai office. HoYoverse's next two games varied on Genshin's theme. Honkai: Star Rail added more detail to its cast of anime girls and boys, increasing their polygon count from 10,000 to 40,000, according to lead game designer Chengnan An, who spoke at March's Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. "They can show more distinct personalities, which creates a deeper connection to players,' he said. Like its successor, Zenless Zone Zero , Honkai was reminiscent of the Japanese Persona series. Countless cosplayers dressed as characters from the games at a New York anime convention late last year. "They have been able to reach a higher level of quality than we've seen on mobile – not just from China – than pretty much any other company out there,' said Javier Ferreira, CEO of Monopoly Go! maker Scopely Inc, in a March interview. "They are pushing the ecosystem forward.' HoYoverse now employs more than 6,000 people across China, Singapore, North America and elsewhere. Others praise HoYoverse's success, but take issue with its strategy. "They take an economic system and then put on a veneer. For example, Genshin Impact is like Zelda. Zenless Zone Zero was Persona ,' says Robert Wynne, co-founder and chief operating officer of Rising Tide Studios, which operates in China. "They have mastered player behavior to the point where they know exactly what you want when. They're like economists and psychologists making video games.' Today, HoYoverse is a top-ten video game publisher, according to analysts – but to keep growing, they say, it needs to expand beyond its comfort zone. The audience for its anime-led role-playing games may have peaked. It will branch out at least a little this year, judging by a teaser to a new game in the Honkai universe that suggested Pokémon-like gameplay. Zenless Zone Zero , its most recent foray, did not perform on par with the company's expectations, according to two people with knowledge of the company. In its launch quarter, it earned less than half its anime predecessors' opening quarter revenue, according to Sensor Tower. "They're dealing with cannibalisation,' said Sensor Tower analyst Sam Aune. "The launch of Zenless Zone Zero shows they may be approaching market saturation for what they can do with role-playing games.' The company is now building games with more touchpoints for non-otaku. It's taking a leap of faith, according to one current employee who requested anonymity. On its website, for example, job postings reference a shooter game. Evidence of strain with this focus shift has already emerged. The company's ambitious open-world game, for which it recruited talent from top Western studios, has been rebooted more than twice, according to two employees. Current and former employees said the game, initially codenamed Project Shanghai and inspired by Grand Theft Auto , is more ambitious than Genshin Impact . Cai also led that development. US-based staff have been laid off due to challenges with coordinating projects across time zones, according to current and former employees. HoYoverse's next phase has been long in the works, but comes at a time of increasing uncertainty about the future of gaming and AI. The employee manual waxes poetic about a vision for games built around AI-generated content, something akin to Roblox Corp but with 3D visual assets instantly created upon a user's command. Cai's Anuttacon is his first step in that direction. The technology will "create new, innovative, intelligent and deeply engaging virtual world experiences,' its website says. He is now worth US$7.9bil (RM33.95bil), according to the Blooomberg Billionaires Index, mostly from his reported 41% stake in Mihoyo. A 25-year Microsoft Research Asia veteran, Xin Tong, now serves as a research manager at Anuttacon. The startup's founding engineer Xiaojian Wu leads a large language model development team after years of AI experience at Microsoft Corp and Meta Platforms Inc. Yet the announcement for Anuttacon's upcoming test version of its space AI game, Whispers from the Star, made no waves. Video-game fans are ambivalent about AI and worry that the shift away from the human touch could hurt game quality and developer jobs. HoYoverse has faced a backlash after replacing voice actors who expressed concerns about AI. Cai does not necessarily disagree: "We may as well consider switching careers,' he wrote in a LinkedIn post addressing the impact of AI on game development. But HoYoverse has a soft cushion under it. Not only does it have the backing of the Chinese government – which it does as a noted pioneer in software development – but the entire games industry is on a yearslong shift eastward. At a time when Western studios are shutting down projects and laying people off, China has become a hub for top game development talent. And HoYoverse is part of that trend with its successful recruitment of developers from the likes of EA. More than a third of available jobs at game companies globally are in Asia, according to an analysis of job posts on company websites by Amir Satvat, a business development director at technology giant Tencent Holdings Ltd, who compiled the data independently. China is today the No.1 video game market internationally, generating an anticipated US$50bil (RM214.85bil) from games this year, according to Niko Partners. HoYoverse is a comfortable titan in that market, though the company has its sights set on conquering more distant horizons. To do that, it'll have to tap its deep talent pool of young otaku and rekindle some of the magic that helped it do unprecedented things in the past. – Bloomberg
New York Post
06-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Shein, Temu boost ad spending in Europe as Trump tariffs squash largest market
Shein and Temu are spending more on advertising in Europe – and sharply pulling back in the US – as President Trump's tariffs effectively block the Chinese fast-fashion firms from their biggest market, according to a report. The race to ramp up spending last month in Europe was most significant in France and the UK, where Shein boosted its dollars 35%, and Temu raised its spending by 40% and 20%, respectively, from the month before, according to Sensor Tower data reported by Reuters. Meanwhile, Shein's daily average spending on US platforms like Facebook and Instagram plunged about 19% from March 31 to April 13 compared to the month before, and Temu's plummeted 31%, according to the data. Shein and Temu ramped up spending in April in Europe ahead of President Trump's tariffs, according to a report. REUTERS That strategy change came as the firms rushed to prepare for last Friday, when Trump ended the de minimis exemption, a trade loophole that Shein and Temu used to ship packages worth less than $800 into the duty-free. The exemption allowed Shein and Temu to sell goods at ultra-low prices to US customers, like $5 shirts and $10 dresses, and skip the customs process for speedy deliveries. Trump's tariffs threaten Shein and Temu's edge in selling cheap products. A $10 dress, for example, would jump to $24.50 with the full weight of the 145% tariff on China – making it much less of a deal for American customers. Temu has already stopped shipments from China to the US, promoting only 'local' products on its US website. Items with the 'local' badge come from US warehouses with inventory that was shipped over ahead of the taxes. But these stockpiles will eventually start to dwindle. The Chinese fast-fashion firms slashed their digital advertising spending in the US, according to Sensor Tower. REUTERS As they attempt to pivot to new markets, Shein and Temu have massively hiked their ad spending in Europe compared to last year – up 45% in France and 100% in the UK for Shein, and 115% in France and 20% in the UK for Temu, according to the data. That advertising push has already helped Shein and Temu secure more app downloads in the UK. Shein saw a 25% increase in downloads from the month before, while downloads of Temu more than doubled, according to Sensor Tower. However, these new downloads have only brought in marginal increases in daily active users. The firms 'probably won't be able to gain as many customers' as they had in the United States, said Kimber Maderazzo, marketing professor at Pepperdine Graziadio Business School. With Post wires
