Maxis removes ‘gender boundaries’ from The Sims 4

The Sims 4 developer Maxis has opened up the game’s character customisation options to remove the line between genders.

Previously, certain items of clothing, accessories, hair styles, voices, body shapes and walk animations were restricted to either the ‘male’ or ‘female’ gender options selected by players when making their avatar.

As of The Sims 4’s latest patch, any Sim can apply any personal trait and wear any piece of clothing, with over 700 different attributes currently available across the base game and its add-on packs.

“For more than 16 years, The Sims franchise has empowered players to express themselves through open gameplay and endless customisation,” Maxis explained in a blog post.

“That’s why we’re so excited that today’s free update to The Sims 4 features an expanded Create A Sim mode with new gender customisation options, and gives our players even more ways to play with life. 

“The Sims is made by a diverse team for a diverse audience, and it’s really important to us that players are able to be creative and express themselves through our games.

“We want 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."