Yandere Simulator, the infamous stealth game that has been in development for almost ten years, has lost major voice actors and developers as its creator is accused of grooming an underage fan. Alex Mahan, better known online as Yandere Dev, has come under fire as screenshots and audio recordings of messages with the fan weremade public, showing him talking to a girl he knew was 16 years old.
Mahan, who is 35 years old,admitsthat the conversations took place, describing them as a “huge fucking mistake”. In the leaked conversations, Mahan appears to be flirting with the 16 year old, discussing adult subjects with her, and defending sexual attraction to minors. Despite this, the alleged victim - given the pseudonym Jane - has defended Mahan’s actions. She says her conversations with Mahan were leaked by a friend of hers, who told her that Mahan’s language was predatory. Jane says this friend took the situation “too seriously”.
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The original video, featuring video recordings of Snapchat conversations and Discord calls, was shared by YouTuber AllyMcC.It has since been deleted, seemingly at Jane’s behest. Jane admits that she previously wanted the video to be made, but has since defended Mahan for the allegations of grooming.
In the recordings, Mahan can clearly be heard repeatedly calling Jane “cute” in their early calls. Shortly after this, the recordings appear to show Mahan taking the conversation down a more sexual route, discussing penis and breast sizes. An example of this is as follows:
Jane:“These are A cups, isn’t that crazy? Because my ribcage is 24 inches.”
Alex Mahan:“Because you’re so skinny?”
Jane:“Yep.”
AM:“So it’s like, the ratio… the ratio of the bust compared to-”
Jane:“Yeah.”
AM:“Yeah, you’re very skinny and that’s kind of hot. Sorry, am I a bad guy for saying that? Should I go die?”
Mahan can also be heard repeatedly defending his attraction to Jane, whom he knew to be 16 years old at the time of their conversations.
Alex Mahan:“Mother nature sexualises minors. Puberty starts to give breasts and wide hips to children before they turn 18. It’s not like, you know, a person does it to a child […] a child gradually becomes and adult over time because of puberty.”
Screenshare recordings of a supposed Snapchat conversation between Mahan and Jane have also been shared. Here, Jane speaks to a Snapchat user called “Cosplay Fan”, which the original video says is Mahan’s account. He has not confirmed or denied ownership of this account in his statement.
In any case, “Cosplay Fan” discusses Jane sending him a video of her undressing, saying it would be “super erotic.” It’s here that he also appears to make light of sexualising minors once again.
Snapchat user “Cosplay Fan” (allegedly Alex Mahan’s account):“the physical difference between a 17 year-old and an 18 year old is like less than a 6% difference. So being attracted to a 17 year old is nearly identical to being attracted to an 18 year-old Its not really a black and white thing where a person transforms overnight as soon as they turn 18. Its a slow transformation over time.” [sic]
Later on, Jane confronts “Cosplay Fan” about their relationship, saying she now believes she was groomed by him. In response, he says he is a “lonely vulnerable man who made the mistake of being flirty to a girl who was a bit too young.” He then says that Jane is abusing him and that she has a “power imbalance” over him, despite her being 19 years his junior. Jane then agrees with him and says she’ll ask her friend to not share her recordings. The friend refuses, so “Cosplay Fan” begins coaching her on what to say to defend him.
Mahan has acknowledged the video, apologizing for speaking to a fan significantly younger than him. However, he argues that his inappropriate comments were “vulgar jokes”, and that he saw Jane as “one of the guys”. He still says he shouldn’t have been speaking to her in the first place, and that the onus was on him as an adult to either cut communications. He still denies that he intended to groom Jane.
Due to the material circulating online, many significant figures behind Yandere Simulator have left the project. This includes the protagonist’s voice actor, Michaela Laws, who announced her departure from the game on Tuesday. She says her voice may remain in the game, but new material will not be recorded by her.
What happened after this isn’t so clear.A poston the Yandere Simulator subreddit purporting to be from Jane goes on to defend Mahan. She argues she was not groomed because she initiated contact and “illegally” recorded Mahan to share with friends. She is critical of the AllyMcC and her friend for sharing her recordings.
AllyMcC meanwhile has defended her decision to share the recordings without Jane’s permission, claiming that “other victims” of Mahan wanted her to, and that she and Jane’s friend believed she was still being manipulated by Mahan to defend him. So far, no other alleged victims have come forward.
