“Incredibly important”: Former director of “The Sims” speaks on the power of the brand’s diversity after Saudi acquisition
An ex-artist and director for The Sims spoke out on how important it is to keep queer representation in the games following the Saudi buyout.
Charles London, who worked on the original Sims and Sims 2, called this in-game diversity "essential" to both the series and society as concerns grow over the fate of the franchise.
The Saudi Arabian government isn't known for being tolerant of the LGBTQ+ community.
Charles London: The Sims needs queer rep
Fans expressed fears over the future of LGBTQ+ representation in some of their favorite games after Saudi Arabia and President Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, acquired the massive video game publisher Electronic Arts (EA). Multiple content creators for The Sims even announced their departure from the EA Creator Network over the news.
Both the Saudi government and anyone associated with Trump have proven hostile to diversity, particularly when it comes to gender and sexuality. Meanwhile, a favorite feature of EA's Sims games is the ability to create queer characters and relationships. The Sims 4 even allows players to make their characters trans or non-binary.
London expressed how essential these features are for both society and the survival of the franchise.
"I think it’s incredibly important for there to be a mainstream, beloved brand that says, ‘love is love and people are people,'" he said in an FRVR interview posted on Nov. 3.
"Its appeal and its recognition of the fundamental truths of our humanity is what creates the empathetic and emotional connection to that game that makes it so powerful."
The artist believes that embracing diversity in video games is more important than ever during a time of backlash to gains in queer and trans representation and rights.
"We will always go through this," he added. "And so when we are in reactionary periods, to have stalwart, beloved brands that are capable of sending this message is critical to society."
"It actually fits the game to be as in-depth as possible"
Even within the gamer community on X, which is largely steeped in anti-DEI rhetoric, some users had to admit that the diversity in a life simulation game makes sense, and it would be absurd to remove it from The Sims.
"It’s Sims. It actually fits the game to be as in-depth as possible," wrote @NoPublicnames.
"The Sims is like the one franchise where diversity is its main selling point," said @ThorThunderdog. "Maybe the new owners will sell it to someone capable of making it good again."
"If there is one series where that stuff makes sense, it's Sims," commented @SubparSubs.
Other gamers took the opportunity to complain about bugs in the newest Sims game.
"Honestly, it doesn't matter, cause Sims is such a broken a** piece of [expletive] nowadays, your diversity doesn't matter when most people CAN'T EVEN PLAY THE [expletive] GAME," @OldRedGrizzly remarked.
The internet is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s newsletter here.
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
The post “Incredibly important”: Former director of “The Sims” speaks on the power of the brand’s diversity after Saudi acquisition appeared first on The Daily Dot.