The latest free update to The Sims 4 dramatically expands its “Create A Sim” mode by removing all gender boundaries from the game, enabling players to make Sims with any type of physique, style of walk, and voice, regardless of their gender.
“The Sims is made by a diverse team for a diverse audience, and it's really important to us that players are able to be creative and express themselves through our games,” Maxis wrote on The Sims blog. “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.”
Sims will now be able to change gender at any time, and players will also be able to specify whether they can reproduce with other characters. The gender symbols that previously appeared in the Sim gallery have been removed, and more than 700 pieces of in-game content, from the base game and expansions, that were previously restricted to either male or female characters will now be accessible to all Sims.
EA and developer Maxis have been working on the update for over a year, Executive Producer Rachel Franklin told AP, and included the LGBT support organization GLAAD in the process. "Creating the possibility for greater gender diversity within the world of The Sims is an exciting development," GLAAD's Transgender Media Program Director Nick Adams said. "It was a pleasure working with developers who were committed to updating the game so that all players can create a Sims world that more accurately reflects the world in which we live today."
The new Sims 4 update is available now.
