Housebound gamers are flocking to Nintendo’s Animal Crossing, an open-ended “social simulation” video game in which players explore and establish a home in a village of anthropomorphic animals. The latest version of the game, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, features one of the first explicitly out LGBTQ characters in a Nintendo game.
According to Video Games Chronicle, one non-playable character named C.J. repeatedly refers to his male “partner” Flick. Another character, Merry, seemingly mentions a lesbian couple while talking about a “romantic comedy.” Interestingly, the publication says that one of the same-sex references doesn’t appear in the game’s Japanese-version.
Whether or not C.J. is actually gay is somewhat up to interpretation as the beaver’s partner could just be his business partner. However, the way C.J. goes on about his partner’s artistic ability can make one think that his admiration is more than just professional.
“My partner’s into making slick collectibles if you want one,” C.J. tells players. “He’s sooooo talented — nyuk, nyuk. He’s a total artist and I can guarantee these models’ll make your neighbors jealous! Usually he’s all about models of bugs and stuff, but when he’s got a fish to work from, his work is AMAZING.”