A new The Sims 4 update coming with the release of High School Years will include a sexual orientation feature. This will allow players to outline who their Sim is attracted to and who they want to romance and WooHoo with.
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The Mission
The team behind the Sims 4 has yet again stressed their dedication to the inclusivity of all people, especially those a part of the LGBTQIA+ community. Not too long ago, the game had an update that added customizable pronouns, allowing players to select how they wanted their character to be referred to in the game. For this update, the design lead from The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack explains that the team has worked “extensively” with GLAAD and the It Gets Better Project to best incorporate options for sexual orientation.
How It Will Work
According to the official site for Sims 4, players will be able to assign a series of attraction parameters for their Sims. You will be able to check a box or combination of boxes to outline who your Sim will be attracted to. It is also stated that in the future, this will be updated to include other gender identities that are not currently present. The team acknowledges that they still have a ways to go to make the game fully inclusive, and that they’re actively working on it.
My Sim Is Exploring Romantically
There will be some different settings included in this update, the first being “my Sim is exploring romantically.” This setting is included to capture two types of people: one who is fully confident in who they’re attracted to, and one who is not. If you select “no,” on this setting, that Sim will firmly reject anyone who does not fall within their attraction parameters. If you select “yes,” your Sim’s sexual orientation can develop through gameplay.
My Sim Is Interested in WooHoo With
This setting is to outline specifically who your Sim will want to WooHoo with. Those who identify as asexual can leave all the boxes unchecked. There is also the option to check WooHoo boxes but leave all the romantic boxes unchecked for those who identify as aromantic. They also point out that you can customize options to have, for example, a Sim who is attracted to multiple genders, but is only interested in physical intimacy with one.
Additional Notes
The team states that you do not need to own High School Years to get this update. It will be available for everyone once High School Years releases. You will also be able to manually change your Sim’s orientation after it’s been created through interacting with a mirror or dresser. Additionally, you will not be able to turn this feature off. According to the team, “While we try to give players the option to toggle certain gameplay features, LGBTQIA+ identities are a fact of life and not a toggle to be switched on and off.”
You can check out more details about the update or read through the FAQs section here.
