The Sims 4 users can customise pronouns in new update

Words: Emily Maskell; Pictures: EA

In the latest free update to The Sims 4, players will be able to customise pronouns for their Sims. 

EA announced on Tuesday (24 May) the update to the life simulation video game which means players will be able to create characters with individually labelled pronouns. The Sims is one of the best-selling video game series of all time.

EA and Maxis worked in conjunction with the It Gets Better Project and GLAAD on the update to ensure the different areas that binary gender was present in The Sims 4 were addressed.

On EA’s website is a step-by-step walkthrough of how to customise character pronouns, but the gist is simple: the character menu includes a drop-down ‘Change Pronouns’ selection that is comprised of ‘They/Them,’ ‘She/Her,’ ‘He/Him,’ and ‘Custom Pronouns’ options. The latter will let the player input custom pronouns.

While customisable pronouns will only be available in English, for the time being, EA has shared their intent to “update and expand this feature over time” to support other languages.

EA states: “As with our vibrant community of Simmers, our development team is an extremely talented and diverse group of folks that brings various perspectives into the content that we create.”

While The Sims franchise has included same-sex relationships since the first iteration of the game, EA has insisted on updates continuing to be more LGBTQ+ inclusive. 

Following a 2021 petition collecting 20,000 signatures to encourage EA to include ‘pronoun options from trans and non-binary sims in The Sims 4,’ EA launched a demo of the customisable pronouns in January of this year. 

“We know that this feature is near and dear to many of you, as it is to us as well,” Sims producer John Faciane said at the time. “In our world today, we believe that gender neutrality plays a critical part in working towards a fully inclusive society.” 

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