Yandere Simulator was a heavily anticipated game in 2016. Demo versions of the game were launched regularly, and big YouTubers like Jacksepticeye and Markiplier posted about it several times for its funny and novel stealth gameplay. Yandere Simulator follows a high schooler named Ayano Aishi, who has an unhealthy level of obsession with her senpai (upperclassman) Taro. In order to win Taro’s heart, she must eliminate her rivals.
Anything goes, from kindly persuading her rivals to step aside, to plotting their gruesome demise in ways that might be flagged by YouTube. The term “Yandere” is an umbrella term for a person whose love drives them to obsession and violence. In the game, it’s defined as a girl “willing to threaten, harm, or kill any other girl who seems interested in him.”
Murder and stalking are core features of the gameplay, and comic amounts of blood were to be expected given the premise of Yandere Simulator. But there were other, more disturbing details, such as stealing shots of female students’ underwear in exchange for information and the mysterious Info-chan. These students, though fictional characters, are attending high school and are implied to be underage. Anybody who’s been up in arms to defend that fiction doesn’t bleed into reality would be hard-pressed to defend YandereDev, real name Alex Mahan, who is facing allegations of grooming an underage fan (alias: Jane).
WARNING: THIS VIDEO FEATURES AN ALLEGED RECORDED CALL WITH SEXUAL UNDERTONES BETWEEN AN UNDERAGE FAN AND YANDEREDEV. MENTIONS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT AND RAPE.
Alex knew that Jane was just sixteen prior to engaging with her. In the video, Alex defended that “mother nature sexualizes children” for “giving them breasts” among a slew of other unsettling claims. The minor also had Snapchat conversations between her and Alex, who coerced her to call all the evidence she had on him “fake,” On September 25, 2023, Alex released an official statement regarding the situation.
In the letter, Alex admitted to making a “huge f***ing mistake,” but argued that the crude jokes made between him and Jane were jokes that he would make with any other friend. His additional remark that she was like “one of the boys” implied that these same comments he made, which rationalized the sexualization of children, were “normal” jokes he would make with other men. He said he would no longer defend himself and admitted to having an inappropriate interaction with a minor in the letter, and he then ended the letter by donating to a charity that provides care and support for survivors of abuse.
Despite this “apology,” the first upload of the video above allegedly faced a copyright strike from Alex, in what appeared to be a move to sweep the evidence under the rug.
The letter comes off as insincere regardless of the donation bit, and rightfully so when Alex refuses to acknowledge that he sexualized Jane. He was still trying to frame his actions as “questionable” rather than wrong, even if he actively talked to her in highly sexual language. After the issue broke out, content creators who still regularly posted about Yandere Simulator like Kubz Scout’s Jay and Bijuu Mike pulled support for Yandere Simulator and no longer intend to upload about it in their future videos.
Yandere Simulator’s artists, voice actors (including Ayano’s voice actor), and volunteers also stepped away from the project. Justice is yet to be served for Jane, but the retraction of support for Yandere Simulator is a good start.
(featured image: Yandere Simulator Development Blog)
