The Sims Finally Adds Customisable Pronouns
It's a big win for diversity in The Sims, as the long-running simulation series has finally confirmed it will be adding customisable pronouns. No longer are your Sims confined to just being he/him or she/her. You asked for it, and now you're getting it.
While it might seem like The Sims has been part of our lives forever, the first game was actually only released in 2000. From the humble roots of sending your Sims off to be a Resident on the Medicine career path and then popping by for a natter with Bella Goth, we've had four main-series outings and more expansions than you can shake a Tragic Clown at.
As The Sims has evolved, there have been growing criticisms about its inclusivity in terms of disabilities, skin tones, and LGBTQ+ representation. The developer already claims it's tackling its race controversy, and in the first livestream of 2022, the Sims team confirmed change is on the way for pronouns.
Is The Sims Adding Customisable Pronouns?
Producer John Faciane promised that Maxis has a three-point plan for customisable pronouns. The idea is to give greater representation for players who identify as transgender or non-binary, add an improved focus on freedom of expression, and finally, create a Sims experience that is supposed to be more welcoming.
There are some logistical problems with this, as highlighted by Localisation Lead Veronica Morales. Morales explained that The Sims 4 is currently available in 18 different languages, and each of these has their own variation on pronouns.
"Some languages [such as Sweden and Spain] do have officially accepted and ready to use non-binary pronouns," said Morales. "But for other territories, the pronouns are not included in their dictionaries". There's also the problem with regions that have tighter regulations and laws against the LGBTQ+ community "where the use of non-binary pronouns can be quite challenging".
The Create-a-Sim naming option will be changed to "Hello, my name and pronouns are..." As well as the standard he/her/they, the fourth lets you type your own and give examples of how they'd work in a sentence.
When Is The Sims Adding Customisable Pronouns?
As for when customisable pronouns will go live in-game, Producer SimGuruDuck warned, "This is still a work-in-progress and our research and design will continue until we feel the feature is in a good place to be launched into the game."
The move comes after a recent petition to add customisable pronouns earned 20,000 signatures. MomoMisfortune was a Twitch streamer that started the petition, and in response to the news, they tweeted, "I started this, but we made it happen together. Thank you all, this means so much to me and so many others."
In case you've already clocked some potential misuse, the new options will include a profanity filter to try and stop pronouns being used in an offensive way. Customisable pronouns come a full six years after The Sims 4 added hairstyles, clothing, and physical appearance without imposing gender restrictions.
Although there was all the usual backlash you might expect from an announcement involving pronouns, the community is largely behind the change. While it's taken us a long time to get here, there's a whole spectrum of flag colours now flying proudly in The Sims.
