EA reverses decision on The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories Russian release

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The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories will come to Russia "unaltered and unchanged"

The Sims 4
(Image credit: Maxis)

The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories Game Pack will come to Russia unchanged, according to a new statement from EA. 

This announcement comes not long after EA announced the pack would not be released in Russia due to anti-LGBTQIA+ laws, with the company claiming it did not want the pack's storytelling to "be subject to changes because of federal laws."

Some gameplay and marketing for My Wedding Stories are centered around the same-sex and interracial couple of Cam and Dom. EA says that, at the time of its initial statement, "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 this pack there."

As Motherboard's Gita Jackson reports, Russia's "gay propaganda" law targets materials allegedly aimed at "causing minors to form non-traditional sexual predispositions, notions of attractiveness of non-traditional sexual relationships, distorted ideas about the equal social value of traditional and non-traditional sexual relationships, or imposing information about non-traditional sexual relationships which raises interest in such relationships insofar as these acts do not amount to a criminal offense," according to a translation from human rights group Article 19.

After an outpouring of feedback on social media, EA reversed its decision today, February 16, while also delaying the worldwide release of the pack, pushing it back from February 17 to February 23. 

"We’ve reassessed our options and realized we can do more than we initially believed and we will now release The Sims 4 'My Wedding Stories' Game Pack to our community in Russia, unaltered and unchanged, featuring Dom and Cam," the statement continues.

"Love is love, and The Sims community will continue to be a safe space for those who want to see a world where that is true for everyone."

You can read more about the new pack in our The Sims 4 My Wedding Stories hands-on.  

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Alyssa Mercante
Alyssa Mercante
Former Features Writer

Alyssa Mercante used to be a features writer at GamesRadar+ and is now a freelance writer and editor. Prior to entering the industry, she got her Masters's degree in Modern and Contemporary Literature at Newcastle University with a dissertation focusing on contemporary indie games. She spends most of her time playing competitive shooters and in-depth RPGs and was recently on a PAX Panel about the best bars in video games. In her spare time Alyssa rescues cats, practices her Italian, and plays soccer.