EA vows to "do better" after Behind The Sims Summit "did not fairly represent our vast community of players"

EA has acknowledged it did "not fairly represent [its] vast community of players" after it's Behind The Sims Summit predominately featured only white content creators. 

The publisher posted a public statement vowing to "do better" after creator, speaker, and host Ebonix called out the company after its eagerly-anticipated broadcast featured just one Simmer of color. 

"You are right in your frustrations, and we let you down," EA told Ebonix in a reply on Twitter. "We owe it to you and each of our Black creators and players to make sure you are seen and celebrated for all that you bring to The Sims and The Sims community."

In a public quote tweet, EA went further, saying:

"Our creator segments during the Behind The Sims Summit did not fairly represent our vast community of players. Black Simmers deserve to feel seen in all that we do at The Sims, so we're holding ourselves accountable to this mistake and will do better moving forward."

The official The Sims Twitter account did not, however, extend formal apologies or expand on how it planned to do this going forward.

"Accountability is the first step, but we know accountability without action is just dreams sold," Ebonix said in response. "The voices I’ve heard come from the community ring crystal clear. There needs to be genuine, meaningful action. Unprovoked by these circumstances. We will see!"

As part of the Behind The Sims Summit live stream, developer Maxis confirmed that The Sims 5 is in development under the codename Project Rene. 

As Sam reported at the time, it will be "built on a foundation of charming Sims, powerful tools, and meaningful stories", according to Lyndsay Pearson, VP of franchise creative for The Sims. 

"We chose Project Rene because it's reminiscent of words like renewal, renaissance, [and] rebirth, and it represents our renewed commitment to The Sims," Pearson explained during the original reveal at the Behind the Sims Summit in October. "That's what we're doing, we're ushering in a new future for The Sims, with a new game experience and more."

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