The Sims 4 Gets New Gender Customization Options

Maxis today updated The Sims 4's Create A Sim mode to include more gender customization options in an effort to help players better express themselves.

The big change here is that, for the fist time, there are no gender boundaries. No longer are things like physique, walk style, and tone of voice restricted to one gender or the other.

Additionally, clothing, hair, and jewelry items (more than 700 pieces in all) can now be worn by all Sims--male or female. This applies to items from the base game and its numerous expansions.

"So if you want to dress up a female Sim in a sharp men's suit or give a male Sim high heels, you can," lead producer Lyndsay Pearson told GameSpot.

She explained that the decision to remove the gender boundaries came in part from a desire to give players more freedom to create a character they can identify with. It's also being done to better reflect the developers at Maxis who make The Sims.

"The Sims 4 is a constantly evolving experience, and we're always looking for new ways to give players more freedom in how they play with life," she said. "Players have asked us why certain hairstyles, clothing options, or voices were limited to one gender or the other."

"We also saw this as an awesome opportunity to continue to nurture an inclusive environment for our community," she added. "The Sims Team is a diverse group that makes a game for a diverse audience, and we want everyone to be able to create who they want."

Pearson also pointed out that The Sims 4's core gameplay is not impacted by the new gender customization options. The world will still react to you in the same way.

Finally, Pearson teased that Maxis still has a "long list" of items and features it hopes to add to The Sims 4--further expanding the gender customization options could be one of them.

"Since the game launched about 18 months ago, we've released updates or expansions nearly every month," she said. "We still have a long list of things to we're planning to add to the game. Stay tuned!"