Infold Games has released a statement to fans addressing their views on Infinity Nikki leaks. The developer claims their initial stance on leaked materials was misunderstood, but some players aren’t buying it.

Infinity Nikki Devs Defend Leake Policy

Another week, another Infinity Nikki controversy. Seriously, it was just a few days ago that there was drama surrounding the Stardew Valley collaboration.

To catch you up, the gacha game’s player base was angry after Infold Games wrote a letter to the community condemning those sharing leaks from the game. The developer even encouraged users to report other players who shared leaked content.

The fandom became enraged when the Infold released an in-game “pounding hammer” item, which seemed to be aimed at leakers. “There are moments when one’s hands itch, eager to raise a mighty hammer toward a certain target.”

Following the controversial item and letter, fans took to social media to criticize the way the developer handled the issue. However, in an August 25 letter, Infold Games defended the Pounding Hammer item.

“Our recent post about ‘leaks’ was intended to affirm our stance against unauthorized leaks. The handheld Pounding Hammer is an in-game item that symbolizes action against unlawful leaking. The post was simply meant to show that we take leaks very seriously. And that Pounding Hammer you received in-game is only a playful symbol of our stance on cracking down on leaks. It was never directed at our stylists, or the broader community in general.”

Why Players Are Angry at Infold Games Over Leaks

While most players understand Infold Games’ stance on stolen material, many took issue with how the letter was worded. Specifically, they weren’t happy with the developer asking players to snitch on each other for viewing leaked materials. The leaks also happened when Infold Games had been quiet about the current patches’ upcoming content, which left users frustrated. Overall, many Infinity Nikki players felt Infold Games was missing the point about why the fanbase was upset.

On the InfinityNikki subreddit, players voiced their frustrations. “I feel like Infold is missing the point about why a lot of us were annoyed. It’s the fact that they pitted the community against the community like they could use us stylists as their little task force to crack down on other stylists,” one said.

“I just can’t read this anymore. They should stop this cringe. Are they doing it on purpose in an attempt to distract players from the game’s real problems?” another fumed.

Other users called out the developer for failing to acknowledge the criticism players had with the studio retconning the Infinity Nikki story. However, not everyone was angry. A good number of players actually saw this latest apology as a “step in the right direction.”

Only time will tell whether the game actually incorporates community feedback. As of right now, the gacha game’s fandom is still in a pretty volatile state. The whole leak drama hasn’t seemed to help the situation.