Maxis and EA Games released a new patch for The Sims 4 that made the game more inclusive. This change allowed players to customize the pronouns of their Sim.

So, how can you use this new feature, why is it such a big deal, and what is its potential impact on the gaming industry as a whole? Let's find out.

The Sims 4 Gets Pronoun Customization

The Sims has always been an innovative franchise, breaking gender norms on careers and relationships. However, in-game characters are always represented as how they appear: i.e., male-like characters are called "he/him/his", and female-looking characters are labeled "she/her/hers".

That is until EA announced in a May 22 update post on EA's The Sims 4 website that you can now customize your character’s pronouns in the English version of The Sims 4. Here’s how you can change the way your Sims refer to themselves and each other.

How to Change Your Characters Pronouns in The Sims 4

To change a Sim’s pronouns, whether new or existing, you have to go on the Create a Sim page. You can edit pre-existing Sims by going to the Manage Households page, clicking on the household you want to edit, and then choosing the Edit, Add, or Remove Sims from the household in Create a Sim buttons.

Choosing Pronouns in The Sims 4
  1. In your chosen neighborhood, click on the Create New Household to Move In button in the lower-right corner.
  2. On the Create a Sim page, click on Hello, My Name Is… on the upper-left side of the screen.
  3. Two text fields will appear for the First Name and Last Name. After those fields, you will see the Change Pronouns dropdown menu.
  4. Click on the Change Pronouns dropdown menu to see your options. You will see They/Them, She/Her, He/Him, and Custom Pronouns.
  5. When you choose any of the first three options, the game will set everything for you. But if you pick Custom Pronouns, a Custom Pronouns window will appear.
  6. In the Custom Pronouns window, you can customize how your Sims call themselves and how other Sims call them. You can change the subjective, possessive independent, objective, reflexive, and possessive dependent pronoun cases to match your character’s personality.

So whether you're in the base game or playing in any Sims 4 expansion packs, your Sims can now call themselves whatever you like. You can choose "he", "she", "they", or whichever pronouns you prefer. This feature ties in nicely with the custom gender settings you can set for each Sim on the Create a Sim page.

Why Pronoun Customization Is Important

Farah Karim Female Protagonist in Call of Duty Modern Warfare
Image Credit: Activision

For many people, this is a minor feature that makes no impact on gameplay at all. However, for some The Sims 4 players, this brings representation to the game.

According to Drop-In Gaming, “Sharing characteristics such as race, gender, physical ability, style, or even personality help people relate and can pull you into the game’s universe.”

Unfortunately, as late as 2019, around 95% of games have male protagonists with few being non-white main characters. However, AAA titles, like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Forza Horizon 5, allow broad representation for their main characters. You can even add prosthetics to your in-game avatar to cover players wearing prostheses and other human augmentation technologies.

A Forza Horizon 5 Avatar Wearing A Prosthetic Arm and Prosthetic Legs

Although these features require additional work from developers, they make their games more inclusive, thus encouraging players from all backgrounds to be their natural selves. And while this might be such an inconsequential thing for white male players, this could mean all the world to the millions out there who can finally see themselves in the games they play.

A Diversified Virtual World

These developments from major game developers and publishers like Maxis, Playground Games, EA, and Xbox Game Studios could hopefully push other developers to be more inclusive in their creations.

By diversifying protagonists in games, developers can ensure they can reach the most number of players. This diversification also means that almost any player can now be themselves or anyone they like in their games. After all, games are there so we can be anyone while playing, including ourselves.