I have been covering live-service games for a while now, and few stories have felt as disheartening as the slow unraveling of Infinity Nikki. InFold Games’ fifth installment in the Nikki series has reached an all-time low rating on Steam, and as I look at the community’s mood in early 2026, the wounds from the infamous Version 1.5 update have still not fully healed. The open-world dress-up RPG that once charmed players with its cozy exploration and styling battles is now fighting for relevance, and many loyal fans are questioning whether the studio is listening at all.
The decline began with the Version 1.5 patch, which sparked such widespread controversy that parts of the community openly discussed a global boycott. I remember reading through forums and seeing the same complaints repeated over and over. Players were frustrated with several aspects of the update, and many called for the game to be rolled back to its pre-update state.
Among the biggest problems were the significantly increased costume costs caused by changes to the outfit acquisition system. In a fashion-focused gacha title, costumes are everything, so making them harder or more expensive to obtain felt like a direct attack on the core experience. At the same time, the developer retconned a tutorial mission’s plot, and in the eyes of many players, that rewrite undermined the story’s emotional weight. These changes were not just minor balance tweaks; they touched the heart of why people loved the game in the first place.
The backlash grew so intense that InFold Games had to issue an official apology. Unfortunately, an apology alone did not undo the damage.
Amid the ongoing controversy, Infinity Nikki’s Steam rating dropped to one of its lowest points ever. I have seen many games stumble after a bad update, but it is rare to see a once-beloved title fall this hard this fast. As noted by fans on Reddit, InFold Games’ open-world RPG eventually held just 47% positive reviews, leaving its overall Steam rating in the dreaded Mixed category. For a game that built its identity on warmth, creativity, and self-expression, that rating felt like a public rejection.
Many dissatisfied players believe the score could sink even further if the studio continues pushing what they describe as greedy monetization changes.
Then came the currency deduction chaos, which I think pushed many players from frustrated to genuinely angry. On top of the unwelcome gameplay and story changes introduced in Version 1.5, fans were outraged over the sudden deduction of in-game currency from their accounts. According to player reports, this happened overnight without any clear explanation. Some players even logged in to find negative currency balances, an absurd outcome that highlighted how rushed and poorly planned the developer’s recent actions appeared to be. For many, this was the final nail in the coffin.
Let me summarize the main complaints in a simple table:
| Issue | Player Complaint |
|---|---|
| Outfit acquisition | Significantly increased costume costs |
| Story change | Tutorial mission plot retconned |
| Currency handling | Overnight deduction without explanation |
| Gacha system | Called unfair and greedy by fans |
| Developer response | Apology issued, but little meaningful change |
The player count tells an even sadder story. As of my latest look, InFold Games had yet to share a clear roadmap for reviving the gacha title. Despite issuing an initial apology, the developer largely stuck to its controversial direction and made few changes to the gacha system that fans label as unfair. SteamDB data showed that just a week after its Steam launch, the player count dropped by 56%. Although the game initially crossed 200,000 wishlists on Steam, Infinity Nikki now sees only around 2,000 active players on the platform. That is a brutal decline for a title that once generated so much optimistic buzz.
I have also noticed a growing sense of resignation in the community. Early calls for rollbacks and boycotts have slowly given way to posts about uninstalling, saving memories, and mourning what the game could have been. The open-world dress-up RPG niche is not overcrowded, so Infinity Nikki had a real chance to own that space. Watching it slip toward the ranks of forgotten games is disappointing, especially for players who invested real time and money into building their wardrobes.
Looking ahead into 2026, I honestly cannot say whether this Singaporean developer can turn things around. What is certain is that the fifth installment in the Nikki franchise remains at serious risk. If InFold Games wants to earn back trust, it will need more than a short apology or a minor patch. It will need transparent communication, fair monetization, a return to the story integrity fans loved, and a genuine effort to compensate players who lost currency overnight. Until then, Infinity Nikki will likely remain a painful case study in how not to handle a live-service community.
I will keep watching, but like many players, my optimism is fading. The outfits are still beautiful, the world is still charming, and the styling mechanics are still fun at their core. Beauty alone, however, cannot fix broken trust. That is a lesson the entire industry should take to heart in 2026.