Nintendo Switch 2 Miis are genderless, and fans have theories as to why

Nintendo Switch 2’s updated Mii maker reportedly does away with gender markers in favour of “styles”.

The Japanese gaming company’s customisable Mii mascots are no longer restricted by gender identity in its latest console’s Mii creator, instead favouring “style” options.

The two options currently available to players are essentially the old options for “male” Miis and “female” Miis, but have been recontextualised as styles rather than genders.

A footnote from Nintendo reads that the styles available “might be reflected as a specific gender in some software.”

The subtle change is a welcome one among die-hard Nintendo fans, one of which joked that the options are now “pants or dress.”

A user posting on Reddit noted that the change could be a hint regarding how the company plans to handle same-sex relationships in the upcoming game Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream.

The upcoming sequel to the cult-classic life-sim game, which uses Miis as characters in a small seaside town, hinted that it would feature same-sex relationships after demand from fans.

In a fittingly bizarre announcement trailer, a scene showing a female Mii fantasising about a fellow female Mii was seen by many as confirmation that Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream would feature same-sex marriage.

Fans have theorised that the removal of gender from Nintendo Switch 2’s Mii maker could allow the company to justify the feature, since same-sex marriage is currently illegal in Japan.

However, the move might simply be a way to update the customisable avatars, which first debuted in 2006 with the release of the Nintendo Wii.

Since then, Miis have been used by Nintendo and third party developers as a stand-in for hundreds of games, including Wii Sports, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Mario Kart 8.

After releasing the first Tomodachi Life for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, the company apologised for not including same-sex romance options after backlash from fans.

A spokesperson said that, while there was “unfortunately” no way to update the game to include same-sex romance post-launch, Nintendo would include it in future iterations.

“We pledge that if we create a next installment in the Tomodachi series, we will strive to design a gameplay experience from the ground up that is more inclusive, and better represents all players,” they said.