‘The Sims 4’ Genders Can Now Be Customized, All Voices, Hairstyles, And Most Clothes Now Available To All Genders

In an update released today, The Sims 4 now supports custom Sim genders. Instead of simply choosing a male or female Sim in the Create-A-Sim engine, players can choose to customize a Sim’s gender. This option is completely controlled by the player, and the game will not alter any Sim with the new options by itself. However, new and existing Sims can be manually altered by the player to use some of the new gender options.

Customizing a gender in The Sims 4 gives the player a new set of options in that Sim’s story. Rather than being restricted to certain physiques, clothes, hairstyles, and more, a customized Sim has access to most, if not all, options. Additionally, a Sim with a custom gender also has preference options for how they use the restroom and whether or not they can become pregnant. As explained on The Sims 4 official website, the new customization option also lets players choose between all six Sim voices.

“For the first time, you’ll be able to customize your Sims without the gender boundaries previously set in place. This means you can now create Sims with any type of physique, walk style, and tone of voice you choose – regardless of their gender.”

In terms of hairstyles and clothing, a Sim’s gender does not need to be customized in order to use options previously locked behind the male or female option. Sims simply have access to all hairstyles and clothes in The Sims 4 without restriction now. For instance, items that were formerly unavailable to each gender are now usable by both; female Sims can now wear long shorts or male Sims can don a skirt. All in all, 700 items are now usable by any Sim rather than being split among male and female Sims.

With the new gender customization option and the removal of restrictions on clothes and hairstyles, The Sims 4 players can customize Sims in several new ways. In an interview with developers on the Electronic Arts website, several developers noted that the update to expand the Create-A-Sim engine started over a year ago.

“Not to mention, given the assortment of stories this update can facilitate, the team also worked very closely with GLAAD to assure that the update was authentic and respectful to the transgender community.”

We are proud to introduce gender customization in #TheSims4: https://t.co/hxBWX4IBhL pic.twitter.com/sjk81OfC7v

— Electronic Arts (@EA) June 2, 2016

Now that the update is live, players will discover plenty of fresh ways to customize their Sims. The patch also lets players use tattoos in outfits giving a Sim an easy way to add and remove tattoos. The patch also improved and addressed some lighting elements for those using the Very High graphics option for Lighting. Specifically, light coming through windows is improved.

A number of general issues were also addressed with the update. The Sims 4 patch notes cover all the new additions and changes on the EA website. Bills now note how much payment is required, Sims with the “Hates Children” trait will now receive a happy buff when failing a pregnancy test, and much more. Issues to specific packs are also listed in the patch notes.

The Sims 4 continues to update with free updates like this one and paid DLC in the form of stuff packs, game packs, and expansion packs. In fact, the upcoming “Dine Out” game pack is scheduled to release on June 7. This new pack will let players own and run restaurants. Sims will be able to dine out at pre-made establishments or players can create their own high-end bistros, diners, or eateries. As the Inquisitr reported, players can manage their own restaurants with the game pack by hiring employees and more in The Sims 4.

[Image via Electronic Arts]