Following criticism from members of the LGBTQ+ community regarding The Sims 4’s newest game pack, My Wedding Stories, being exclusionary, The Sims team has announced the add-on will be coming to Russia. The team shared the news in a blog post published earlier today, writing that while they “believed that our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia,” they have since realized they will be able to release the pack, “unaltered and unchanged” on February 23.
You can read the full letter below:
An Update on My Wedding Stories
To our Simmers,
Last week, we shared the below update about our upcoming game pack “My Wedding Stories.” At the time, we believed that our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia and decided the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack there.
Since then, we’ve been listening to the outpouring of feelings from our community including both support for our decision and concern for their fellow community members. It’s equally important for us to stand by our values, including standing against homophobia, and to share stories like this with those who want and need it most.
With this in mind, we’ve reassessed our options and realized we can do more than we initially believed and we will now release The Sims 4 “My Wedding Stories” Game Pack to our community in Russia, unaltered and unchanged, featuring Dom and Cam.
We want the entire Sims community to be able to celebrate together, so we’re pushing the global release of “My Wedding Stories” to February 23 – including in Russia.
Love is love, and The Sims community will continue to be a safe space for those who want to see a world where that is true for everyone. We are thankful for the support of our team and our values even when it is hard. Thank you for being a part of The Sims.
The Sims Team
The news comes a week The Sims team published an open letter on The Sims 4’s official blog stating that, due to federal laws, The Sims 4: My Wedding Stories would not be sold in Russia. Following the announcement, several members of both the Russian and LGBTQ+ Sims communities expressed frustration and outrage at EA’s decision. Fans claimed there was no reason the game couldn’t be released in Russia (which has received every prior Sims 4 add-on, albeit at an 18+ rating), and the company was “excluding the ones that are being affected more than others.”
To accommodate this change in plans, The Sims team has announced they are pushing the release date of My Wedding Stories from February 17 to February 23.
Source: Gamespot
