China's AI companion boom deepens as virtual love goes mainstream
Sky News explores China's rising use of AI companions and virtual relationships, from the game Love and Deep Space to paid cosplay dates, and the societal concerns behind the trend.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
China is seeing a rapid rise in digital and AI-based companionship, with more people choosing virtual relationships over human interaction. The trend is being driven by a mix of technology, entertainment, and social pressures, and it is raising fresh questions about loneliness and the future of intimacy.
At the heart of the phenomenon is a mobile video game called Love and Deep Space, which blends action with romance. Players adapt storylines to develop relationships with virtual characters. At a recent fan event in an ordinary shopping centre, hundreds of fans and cosplayers gathered to celebrate one such character, Raphael. There was no applause, but the audience was visibly thrilled. The game has been China's most downloaded at multiple points, and its fan base is large and devoted.
Some fans take the experience further. Haoqi, a medical student, spends her spare time dressing up as another character, Silas, to take paying clients on dates. She charges roughly five pounds an hour, and the client dictates the terms, the food, the outfits, and the tone of the outing. For Haoqi, this is a hobby and an art form, and she sees it as a safe place for women to role-play their passions. But it also highlights how far some people are willing to go to recreate a virtual relationship in the real world.
The trend is not limited to the game. Some digital companions now add AI, which raises the stakes. The technology is developing rapidly, and one user noted that it did not just listen but seemed to emotionally interpret what was said. China's population appears especially open-minded towards these tools. A study comparing chatbot users across four countries found that the Chinese were notably more likely to consider a chatbot a friend, and over three times more likely to say they felt less lonely after speaking to one than people in Germany.
There are real concerns that accompany the boom. The report points to the tough economic situation facing young people, a serious shortage of jobs, crippling levels of competition and pressure, and a well-documented rise in isolation and loneliness. The government is also worried about a major drop-off in the birth rate, with many young women citing economic and social pressures as reasons not to have children. The question is whether the popularity of digital companions is a symptom of these social problems, and whether it risks making them worse by blurring the lines between fact and fancy.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | Sky News |
|---|---|
| Compared with Germans, Chinese respondents were more likely to consider a chatbot a friend and over three times more likely to feel less lonely. | |
| Paid cosplayers offering dates charge roughly five pounds an hour. | |
| The game Love and Deep Space has been China's most downloaded game at multiple points. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News delivered a feature-length report that framed the boom in AI companions and virtual relationships as a cultural phenomenon and a social question. It combined on-the-ground footage from fan events and paid cosplay dates, and balanced enthusiasm for the technology with concern about loneliness, the economy, and the birth rate. The tone was inquisitive rather than alarmist.
- “It's a very, very powerful technology. It didn't just listen to what I said, but it sort of emotionally interpreted what I said.”
- “There is a levity, an excitement to it all. A delight in the intentional blurring of the lines between fact and fancy.”
- “The Chinese surveyed were notably more likely than average to consider a chatbot a friend and over three times more likely to feel less lonely as a result of having spoken to one compared with those from Germany.”
Broadcast Timeline
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