Chinese Women Spent $32 Million on Virtual Boyfriends Last Month

Chinese women are reportedly spending a ridiculous amount of money on a popular mobile game called “Love and Producer” where they get to flirt with virtual boyfriends.

Based on the data from research firm Jiguang, the dating simulator is currently the hottest game among China’s young women, attracting over 2 million active users daily, Quartz reports.

Launched in December, the game has immediately climbed among the top grossing apps in China’s App Store. While the game itself is free, players can purchase in-game items to improve their odds of having a successful virtual relationship.

The research found that the players, who are mostly women in their early 20s, have so far spent at least 200 million yuan (around $32 million) in January alone.

“Love and Producer” features the player as a female TV producer who is on a mission to save her late father’s production company by reviving a hit show. The player also has the opportunity to develop romantic relationships with four heartthrobs: Li Zeyan is a young company CEO who has a tough facade but has a sensitive personality; Bai Qi, on the other hand, is a special force police officer who is protective of his special someone; Xu Mo is a super-smart scientist with exceptionally high IQ and EQ; Zhou Qiluo, is a pop star who has a romantic and gentle personality.

Throughout the game, the four men will fall in love with the player. It’s up to the player to choose one or play around by dating them all.

To go on virtual dates, however, players need to spend some “purple diamonds” which can be earned by playing or purchased with real money. The player also needs to keep her studio running, of course, which involves the use of “bonding cards” to enable her to keep producing high-quality shows. Like the “purple diamonds”, these “bonding cards”, which increase the production company’s “decision-making” and “creativity”, can also be earned by completing in-game missions or purchased with real money.

“Love and Producer” is developed by Pape Games, a Suzhou-based firm which produces games intended for the female market.

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