Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice will cease operations for its global server in less than a month. Find out more about the announcement here.
Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice Says Goodbye as it Turns Seven
End of Service on March 27
Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice (MLQC) developer Papergames, the same team behind Love and Deepspace, announced an imminent termination for its global server, scheduled on March 27, 2026, at 12:00 AM PST / 3:00 AM EST. The community is heartbroken over the shutdown, especially since the popular mobile otome game is approaching its seventh anniversary on March 20.
"We are deeply grateful for your unwavering love and support. However, in recent years, increasing operational challenges have made it increasingly difficult to continue running the game," the post reads. They state that they "have explored every possible option to keep the game running," but unfortunately have to make the difficult decision to end service, as they "can no longer deliver an experience" that meets player expectations.
It is worth noting that MLQC’s Chinese and Taiwanese servers (known as Love and Producer/恋与制作人) are not affected by the shutdown, since they are published and maintained by Infold. In contrast, the company Elex handles the global server.
Seventh Anniversary Farewell Bonuses
According to the timeline they have provided, the discontinuation will occur in the following stages:
⚫︎ February 27: All in-game purchases and new user registrations will be suspended. The refund request portal will open.
⚫︎ March 27: The game service will be officially terminated. The app will be removed from digital storefronts, servers will be shut down, and all login access will end.
⚫︎ April 30: Deadline for refund requests. The refund portal closes.
⚫︎ May 18: The official community pages will be taken offline in stages. Customer service channels will be closed.
⚫︎ Beginning May 18: All player account data will be securely deleted, except transaction records they are legally obligated to keep.
They also outlined the following in-game rewards to be distributed until March 24 as a token of appreciation to the players, who are called Producers in the game:
⚫︎ February 27: 100 Galaxy Wish Coupons, 100 Dreamglow Wish Coupons
⚫︎ March 10: 500 Gems, 30 7th Anniversary Event Item [Everlasting Pendant], 50 Confess Wish
⚫︎ March 17: 1000 Gems, 30 7th Anniversary Event Item [Everlasting Pendant], 20 Karma Promise, 20 Mystery Keys
⚫︎ March 24: 1500 Gems, 40 7th Anniversary Event Item [Everlasting Pendant], 10 Emotion Flowers
Despite the seventh-anniversary celebration sitting close to the end of service, the developers assure that it will still proceed as planned. Content includes 5 SSR and 5 R Karma events and "a vast amount of anniversary rewards" sent directly to all players for free.
"Every moment and every heartbeat we experienced together in Loveland City over these past seven years will live on in memory, continuing to accompany you. We sincerely hope you carry the beauty of our time together forward, continuing to love bravely, to believe, and to shine as the brilliant protagonists of your own stories," they imparted to the community.
Operational Struggles Cause Closure
MLQC is one of the most prominent otome titles of the past decade, from its launch in 2019 to its introduction of the dating sim subgenre to many players during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has maintained an active global following in the otome game community over the years, to the point where it had a 12-episode anime adaptation (titled "Koi to Producer ~EVOLxLOVE~") by MAPPA in 2020, with the original Japanese voice actors reprising their roles.
However, it has also faced financial constraints and production challenges, prompting developers to cut content. Their renewed game operations strategy in 2022 began by reducing ASMR and other previously voiced materials, now available only in text. In 2023, they limited voice-overs for the main story, NPCs, and other SSR and SR Karma dates "to maintain the continued operation of the game and maximize the gaming experience."
More adjustments came in October 2025 as the English server struggled with "heavy operational pressure" due to high voice-over costs, which caused sustainability difficulties. Even in their seventh-anniversary event, the characters remain unvoiced.
A Sad Month for the “Producers”
Fans are reacting to the shutdown with grief. Several of them have found comfort playing the title during the pandemic and have gone through significant milestones later in life, such as graduating from college, only to return to parting with the characters Victor, Lucien, Gavin, and Kiro. In the same vein, active players who have been continuously logging in daily until now are not faring well with the announcement.
As is the case with discontinuing games that still have a loyal following, the MLQC community took to social media to suggest preservation efforts, such as moving the global players to the Chinese server, archiving content on Discord, and keeping screenshots of their favorite moments and characters in the game. However, the official MLQC channels have yet to respond to these queries, and it is unknown whether they will address them at all.
What’s Next for Otome
Since the pandemic, the otome and joseimuke (female-oriented games without romance) scene has seen an increase in service closures for well-known titles. The Japanese actor-training game A3! (Act! Addict! Actors!) stopped operations for its English server in 2022, just over two years after launch. The Shall We Date? series terminated almost all of its titles on October 28, 2025: Wizardess Heart, Blood in Roses, Love Tangle, Ninja Shadow, Guard me, Sherlock!, Lost Alice, and Dear Otome.
Although Obey Me! and Obey Me! Nightbringer are still up and running, they no longer have new events or cards. The latest entry in the Obey Me! franchise, Till Death Do Us Part, was criticized for its art and gameplay not living up to the standards set by the original game.
With beloved otome and joseimuke games dying out left and right, fans are perplexed about what the future holds for these video game subgenres. However, the emergence of indie titles—such as A Date with Death and Our Life: Beginnings & Always, both of which have sequels coming this year—as well as English localizations of Japanese otome games continue to bring hope for many.
Love and Deepspace also currently stands at the forefront of otome recognition, mirroring the popularity of the chat-based sim Mystic Messenger back in 2016.
Sources:
X/Twitter | End of Service Announcement for Mr Love: Queen's Choice
X/Twitter | Renewed game operation strategy
X/Twitter | MLQC overseas server is facing operational pressure
X/Twitter | A3! English server announces end-of-service
A Dose of Otome | ‘ML:QC’ limits voice-over content going forward
Shall we date? series ending service
in a perfect world, live service otome/joseimuke games would not shut down 🥀
save otome games 🔊🔊