EA and developer Maxis are bringing a welcome inclusivity feature to The Sims 4. Starting today, you’ll be able to customize the pronouns of your Sims. The feature is only available in the English version of The Sims 4 for now. EA and Maxis plan to improve it over time and make it available in more languages. They say it’s “one step in the direction of a more inclusive experience for Simmers.”
A screenshot of the feature suggests players will be able to enter whichever pronouns they prefer into text boxes. The settings show how the pronouns will work in context too — e.g. “he/she/they would like a grilled cheese.”
The developers worked with GLAAD and the It Gets Better Project to gain a deeper understanding of the impact and use of pronouns. The organizations helped the team grasp where and how binary representations of gender are used in the game.
Although The Sims 4 was originally released in 2014, EA and Maxis have continued to support the game with expansion packs and updates. It has a thriving modding community too. According to Mat Piscatella of The NPD Group, The Sims 4 was one of the 10 most-played games in the US in the first three months of this year, beating out the likes of Rocket League and Elden Ring.
Here are the top 10 most played games of Q1 2022 in the U.S. ranked by year of initial release. (Source: The NPD Group’s PlayerPulse)
Half of the top 10 weren’t launched this decade. Elden Ring ranked 20th. Ahead of it were games like Rocket League, World of Warcraft and Skyrim. pic.twitter.com/eWXKVMFHZj
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) May 24, 2022