In an about-face, The Sims developer Maxis and publisher Electronic Arts announced that The Sims 4‘s latest content pack, My Wedding Stories, will release in Russia after all. The move comes following an announcement that the studio would keep its latest content pack out of the country, citing “federal laws.”
Russia has a “gay propaganda law” which makes it illegal to promote content that could let children see homosexuality as a norm. While The Sims 4 has always allowed same-sex relationships between its characters, My Wedding Stories prominently features a gay couple in its promotional materials. It’s likewise worth noting that The Sims 4 is rated 18+ in Russia, but players there can access the same content as anyone else in any other country.
“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 the pack there,” the developers said in an update to the previously mentioned announcement on The Sims 4‘s website. “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.”
While that statement is somewhat vague, prominent content creators for The Sims 4 have said they would not play My Wedding Stories until it was released in Russia. This adjustment means the content pack is now set to launch globally on February 23.
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