The Sims 4 Removes Gender Barriers

UPDATE#4: SimGuruHouts confirmed on Reddit that there are Feminine and Masculine filters in CAS.

UPDATE #3: GameSpot brought new quotes from Lyndsay!

“We also saw this as an awesome opportunity to continue to nurture an inclusive environment for our community,” she added. “The Sims Team is a diverse group that makes a game for a diverse audience, and we want everyone to be able to create who they want.” Pearson also pointed out that The Sims 4’s core gameplay is not impacted by the new gender customization options. The world will still react to you in the same way. Finally, Pearson teased that Maxis still has a “long list” of items and features it hopes to add to The Sims 4–further expanding the gender customization options could be one of them. “Since the game launched about 18 months ago, we’ve released updates or expansions nearly every month,” she said. “We still have a long list of things to we’re planning to add to the game. Stay tuned!”

UPDATE #2: The Verge brought some new quotes from Lyndsay Pearson about the new game-changing features!

“The update gives players more ways to reflect the world around them, or in their imaginations, creating the sims and the stories they want,” says lead producer Lyndsay Pearson. “Our players are constantly engaged in a conversation with us about The Sims, and they’re always requesting more of everything,” says Pearson. “We always have an incredibly long list of things we want to add to the game, and so much of that list comes directly from player feedback. In this case, players have been asking why certain hairstyles, clothing, and other options were limited to one gender or the other… We also saw it as an awesome chance to continue to nurture what’s always been an inclusive environment for all our players.” Pearson says that in addition to taking feedback from fans, the development team also consulted with GLAAD on the update to ensure the changes were respectful. Pearson says that there’s likely more on the way as well. “We’re always looking for new ways to push creative boundaries for our players,” she says, “and these tools grow over time, just like the game itself.”

UPDATE: SimGuruLyndsay has confirmed that the game will not automatically create any NPCs using this new functionality. This means that they added some optionality with the new features!

Associated Press have just confirmed that today’s The Sims 4 Patch will remove gender boundaries and allow players to create Sims with any type of physique, walk style or voice.

According to the text,  EA and Maxis said over 700 pieces of content previously available to only male or female Sims will now be accessible regardless of gender in “The Sims 4” and its various expansion packs.

For more info, check out the quoted text below!

LOS ANGELES — The creators of “The Sims” are opening up gender customization options for the first time in the history of the popular life simulation video game.

“The Sims” publisher Electronic Arts and developer Maxis says a free update available Thursday for “The Sims 4” will remove gender boundaries and allow players to create Sims with any type of physique, walk style or voice.

“The Sims 4” and earlier installments in the 16-year-old series previously restricted specific clothing, hair styles and other aesthetic options to either male or female characters.

EA and Maxis say over 700 pieces of content previously available to only male or female Sims will now be accessible regardless of their gender in “The Sims 4” and its expansion packs.

The gaming medium rarely depicts or allows players to create transgender characters.

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The creators of “The Sims” are opening up gender customization options for the first time in the long-running history of the popular life simulation video game.

“The Sims” publisher Electronic Arts and developer Maxis said a free update available Thursday for “The Sims 4” will remove gender boundaries and allow players to create virtual townsfolk — or Sims, as they’re known — with any type of physique, walk style or voice they choose.

“The Sims 4” and earlier installments of the 16-year-old series previously restricted specific clothing, hair styles and other aesthetic options to either male or female characters.

EA and Maxis said over 700 pieces of content previously available to only male or female Sims will now be accessible regardless of gender in “The Sims 4” and its various expansion packs.

The studio said in a statement it wanted 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.”

While previous editions of “The Sims” have featured character customization restrictions based on gender, users have unofficially modified the PC game over the years to remove such barriers.

“The Sims 4” executive producer Rachel Franklin said in an email to The Associated Press that the developers have been working for over a year on the update. She noted that “female Sims can wear sharp men’s suits like Ellen (DeGeneres), and male Sims can wear heels like Prince.”

Franklin also noted players can now change their Sims’ gender at any time and specify whether they can reproduce with other characters. She said Maxis worked with the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy group GLAAD on the update, including following a suggestion to remove gender symbols associated with characters in the game’s gallery.

The move brings “The Sims” in line with its depiction of gay, lesbian and bisexual characters.

The franchise has included same-sex relationship options since its 2000 debut, although gamers who desired virtual nuptials for their Sims of the same sex had to wait until the release of “The Sims 3” in 2009.

The gaming medium rarely depicts or invites users to create transgender characters. The fantasy role-playing game “Dragon Age: Inquisition” from EA and developer BioWare notably featured a transgender male character named Krem in 2014.

Tip: SimCookie