Developed by popular and creative devs at Maxis, and published by the experienced/wisened/slightly infamous team, has known for a long, long time that the main selling point of their lifestyle simulator game is customization. The Sims is one of those games that has become so embedded in culture–people meme on how they kill their Sims; how they create their Sim to model themselves, characters, or celebrities. So, it’s great to see the series proactively put a foot forward on the path of the every moving progression toward gender acceptance/equality.
When asked for a statement, developers stated in an interview:
[we want to] make sure players can create characters they can identify with or relate to through powerful tools that give them influence over a Sims’ gender, age, ethnicity, body type and more.
The Sims 4, initially released two Falls ago in September of 2014, was well received. A sequel in a long line of well made main titled and numerous expansions, the change we are currently witnessing for the Sims 4 is a monumental one never before seen in the series.
The entire style customization expands across both genders, including all clothes, hairstyles, accessories, and more. The change will be made as part of an update, which will alter “more than 700 existing pieces of content gender-neutral, allowing players to alter their characters in any way they wish for the first time,” and will be able to customize the characters/methods their Sims choose to have children with.
When asked for a statement, lead producer Lyndsay Pearson stated:
The Sims has long been an inclusive game built by a diverse team for a diverse audience. We’ve been working on this update for more than a year, and it’s about giving players more ways to be creative and express themselves. Players have always been able to customize their Sims’ hair, age, skin tone and more. This is a natural evolution of that gameplay freedom.
The update will be available for download starting this upcoming June 7th!