By Johanna Costigan
Publication Date: 2026-01-20 11:00:00
Jade Gu met her boyfriend online. Gu, who is 26 and studying art theory in Beijing, was playing on her cell phone when she saw Charlie. She was deeply engrossed in an otome game, a romantic video game in which women are the protagonists. Charlie was a character.
Some otome players date multiple men at once, but Gu fell in love with Charlie – a tall, confident character with silver hair. However, she found the game’s dialogue system frustrating. She could only interact with Charlie through predetermined questions and answers. Then she came across an ad for a platform called Xingye (星野), which allows people to customize an AI companion. Gu decided to recreate Charlie.
Xingye is owned by one of China’s AI unicorns, MiniMax; its chatbot app for the US market is called Talkie. The app touts its ability to help people connect emotionally and create new memories. The slogan is: “Suddenly be in a beautiful place and stay here.”
Gu quickly discovered that other Xingye…
