UPDATE: It seems that fans will have to wait a little longer, as the 10 Rivals Update is a separate game mode to Yandere Simulator.
After our initial report, a fan reached out to us with an older Patreon update (June 17th) explaining that the 10 Rivals Mode would be. In summation, YandereDev did not wish to release “something that will eventually become fun after a few cycles of feedback and revisions,” but needed feedback. As such, the 10 Rivals Update is its own 99% gamplay-focused mode; featuring a new protagonist her own rivals.
Due to the discussion of release dates and announcements, we reached out to YandereDev for comment and clarity. He confirmed that his Patreon post still stood; a new gameplay mode focused on eliminating ten rivals over ten weeks with new characters for playtesting and feedback.
YandereDev also stated that his announcement of completion was for the completion of this game mode. However, for those seeking a pure gameplay experience akin to what Yandere Simulator initially offered, YandereDev states this may be exactly what they wanted.
“In many ways, the upcoming 10 Rivals Mode will probably give many people exactly what they expected/hoped for when they first heard of Yandere Simulator. You start a new game, you do the tutorial, you eliminate 10 rivals over 10 weeks, you watch the end cutscene, the credits roll. It’s not the “main story” or “main campaign”, but it is still a complete experience with a beginning/middle/end. It is very elaborate, with new characters, new environments, and new features. I suppose you can think of it as a side-story.”
However, YandereDev stated this did not fit cleanly into the definitions of Early Access, Demo, or Complete Game- falling between all three in a Venn diagram. He further stated that Yandere Simulator will not be complete until all of the rivals announced in 2016 are in the game.
YandereDev also addressed some of the controversies surrounding him and the game. He highlights how those analyzing the game’s code had “wasted their time” as that was not the code intended for the final game. For example, the excessive if-else statements often used to mock the game’s coding were removed years ago.
YandereDev also stated how false narratives had arisen around the game. Those “speedrunning” to get banned from the Discord were banned due to spam or content that was against Discord’s TOS; not because of unflattering pictures or comics. Others were born out of character assassination, and drama-seeking YouTubers relying on outright false claims.
“In short, nobody should ever formulate their opinions based on what they hear from Twitter, drama YouTubers, or random people on Reddit,” YandereDev states. “Those are not very credible sources of information.”
Original Story:
YandereDev has announced that the 1.0 version of Yandere Simulator may soon be complete, after seven years of development.
The developer, YandereDev, explained in a recent progress report that the 10 Rivals Update (the game’s main story) was almost complete with mere days to go. An announcement video is planned soon, complete with a release date. However, production of that video could take longer than expected, preventing a solid announcement of (as a given example) a mid-September release.
YandereDev has stated he will produce daily progress reports showing images from the game, until the update is live. This was followed the next day by blurry screenshots of what seems to be the main character’s bedroom, ad other blurred teaser images each day thereafter [1, 2, 3].
For those unfamiliar, the game was born of a proposed idea in a 4Chan thread in 2014. Akin to Hitman, players would play as a yandere in a typical anime horror/high-school setting; using stealth gameplay to kill off perceived rivals.
The yandere trope (combining the words yanderu/sick and deredere/love) refers to a character psychotically obsessed with their romantic interest; to the point of killing others or even their interest.
The game would later begin development, becoming Yandere Simulator. Features that were added to the game include kidnapping and torture to make someone do your bidding for a short time, selling victims into human trafficking, dismemberment, setting up accidents and traps, framing students for breaking rules, getting them expelled, and using gossip to blackmail students into doing what you want.
Less morbid additions included joining clubs and social groups for various boons, and being able to help your love rivals in exchange for them not pursuing your love interest.
Editor’s Note: As noted in the update above, YandereDev has provided statements on the allegations, and why they are false.
As expected the game gained some infamy due to its concept, but even through the message board that had initially shown interest in the idea. The game’s work-in-progress builds were banned from Twitch in January 2016, and in June of that year YandereDev had caused controversy due to the reaction to a proposed inventory system.
Suggesting a Resident Evil 4 style inventory system, YandereDev suggested that the main character would open her skirt to the camera, showing her panties. Despite a community poll showing 89% were happy with the idea, YandereDev would later side with the “very vocal” 11% who felt uncomfortable with it.
This was despite YandereDev pointing out the hypocrisy of those being OK with violent but not sexual content, and later implementing a currency system where players would take panty shots in exchange for favors from an NPC. Nonetheless, fans were outraged over this, and were concerned it would lead to other compromises.
What seemed to be a major breaking point was when YandereDev accepted or offered an interview with Kotaku. Thanks to the then ongoing GamerGate controversy (and even long before then), mainstream gaming websites like Kotaku were loathed by “chan” message board users- criticizing their lack of knowledge, poor reviews, failure to disclose conflicts of interest, and disgust at all but mainstream themes in games.
The interview was seen as a betrayal by members of 8Chan and beyond; seeing it as a sign the developer would compromise the idea of a classic stealth and niche title into something more palatable to a wider audience.
The game’s long development time, allegedly clunky code [1, 2, 3, 4], and banning those mocking the developer from the game’s official Discord [1, 2] only exacerbated this. Nonetheless, YandereDev has continued to develop the game, and it may soon be released.
Yandere Simulator is coming soon to Windows PC. A demo is currently available.
Image: Yandere Simulator official website