It’s not a controversial or pessimistic stance to say that The Sims has been on a downwards trajectory since The Sims 4 dropped to a reaction that can only be described as “the crowd goes mild”. It was a mess, and it’s been a mess from that day up until now. But do you know what you could never take away from The Sims 4? Despite the fact all of us lifelong Simmers have absolutely slandered the game in favour of previous more exciting titles that never felt cash grabby – The Sims 4 has been woke as hell. You can be anything you want in The Sims 4 without judgement and restriction. Never has a game been so good at including representation for any gender identity on the spectrum, any medical wearable, scar – you name it. It has been a thoughtful game. But finally, all that feels lost and feels scary – with the unprecedented news that The Sims and EA Games have been acquired by Saudi Arabia and the Kushners. To say The Sims players are scared is an understatement – I, like many have this game as my safe space. My silly little sanctuary.
The Sims has been my safe space for decades
Like many other queer people who play The Sims games and have played them since they first could even play a video game – The Sims has always been formative in my self expression and creativity. I think the first game I ever played was The Sims: Bustin Out on my original Xbox in the early 2000s. I was obsessed. Instantly obsessed. It wasn’t a particularly woke game back then but it felt cool and I could make characters who felt far more interesting and self assured than I did. You could read the newspaper and begin to become a pop star. What a life!
It was my dalliances with The Urban: Sims in the City though that truly broadened my horizons. It’s a weird little game, but it’s all about niche subcultures and self expression. I feel like that game was so formative and coming of age for me as a queer person and the way it just opened a billion doors of things I felt possible for characters in a video game to be doing – I pumped hours into it.
I then of course moved on to mainline games on my computer as I got older and realised the difference – and I spent every year since then playing every Sims game and mostly having the time of my life.
By 2025, I’d totally taken for granted that I can be anything I want in The Sims and how its woke ways are ingrained in its DNA. But now, everyone’s unsure.
EA being sold terrifies us all
Players are worried if new stakeholders, particularly from regions with stricter cultural norms, could affect what kind of content EA produces or approves. Even if that doesn’t happen directly, the perception of outside influence could impact how fans feel about the company.
Finally, going private means less transparency. EA will no longer have to release detailed financial and development updates the way it did as a public company. While this gives EA more freedom behind the scenes, it also makes it harder for players and the press to hold the company accountable. Combined with concerns over Saudi Arabia’s involvement and its human rights record, the buyout is just giving players a deeply troubled feeling.
It’s not just that this game is a safe space for me and its liberal and progressive boundary pushing are just part of its DNA – I truly feel like there are millions of Simmers out there who play The Sims to live the lives they currently can’t. I truly fear for its legacy with this sale and I hope we can make it through this.
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