Oliver Mitchell

EA Postpones the Wedding Pack for The Sims 4 Due to LGBT Controversies

One of the things we love about The Sims 4 is a constant influx of content in updates and content packs. The most recent one, named My Wedding Stories, has been delayed for a while. The reason was the controversy around LGBT themes that could be problematic, given the homophobic attitude of Russian authorities.

My Wedding Stories is the pack announced months ago. With this pack, a player can have a wedding party of their life. The pack includes anything that can be used during a wedding party, including various party activities, dishes, clothes, and stuff.

The controversial element of the pack is that its ad highlighted the same-sex marriage theme which was recognized as a source of potential problems. Considering potential censorship by authorities of Russia (where “LGBTQ+ propaganda” is censored and condemned) led to a decision to release it without a Russian language pack. It seemed a logical move that didn’t prompt the company to bend its values for just one country.

But this decision, in its turn, got heavily criticized by the player community who found it inappropriate of Maxis and EA to cater to authoritarian Russia while releasing the pack in, say, Spanish – given that many Latin countries are just as repressive towards the LGBTQ+. Many Russian players, regardless of their attitude towards LGBTQ+, also felt discriminated by this decision. In addition, The Sims 4 is an 18+ game, which means it isn’t subject to the law in question at all. In the end, the publisher decided to include a Russian localization and release it in Russia. But adding it took time and resulted in another delay.

Finally, My Wedding Stories will take six more days to appear. Instead of February 17, like planned, it would be released on February 23 only. What do you feel about this delay and its reasons? Tell us in the comments!