The Sims Team promises to improve Skin Tones in The Sims 4
The Sims Community has been very vocal regarding the lack of skin tones options and blotchy and bugged variants that there are in the game ever since…well…the release of The Sims 4. In the recent weeks the community have pointed out numerous issues and problems that players are experiencing with the lack of proper skin tone representation in the game.
Today, Lyndsay Pearson, General Manager for The Sims Franchise has released an official statement regarding their plans to improve Skin Tones by fixing the existing ones and adding new ones. There aren’t too many details shared except for the fact that it’s currently among their top priority and that they’ll deliver these improvements to The Sims 4 this Fall.
Check out the full statement (and video) down below:
Hi Simmers,
First of all, I hope you are healthy and I hope you are safe.
I want to address a topic that is very near and dear to The Sims. Inclusivity is at the core of The Sims franchise. From the beginning, we set out to let you build Sims that look like you, or people you know. And we understand it doesn’t feel like we’re truly living up to that promise.
We hear you and recognize that we have not done enough to address the variety of skin tones and hair styles that you expect to find in The Sims 4. While we have made additions and improvements and fixes in the past, there is much more for us to do. We are making it a priority to release more options this year, as well as to address the visual issues with current skin tones- specifically, to improve the blotchy artifacts and ashy tones. We’ve iterated on these before, but we are doing a deep dive into our full pipeline to trace our assets through every step and compare the before and afters to assess any loss in quality.
As we have demonstrated, The Sims is committed not only to inclusion, but to authentic and respectful inclusion, which means we don’t do this work alone. We take feedback from a number of places that inform the work and hold us accountable in our execution. And part of that accountability is communicating to you; we will strive to keep you as up to date and informed as possible. So, as a start, we’re promising to fix the visual artifacts with existing skin tones and increase the number of tones available in The Sims 4 this Fall.
Our community is bigger and stronger than it has ever been, and we will continue to make sure our players are heard, feel represented and are able to create without boundaries. We are blown away by the incredible craftsmanship our mod community and what they bring to the game, and the ways in which they have expanded on the Sims 4 experience. There is no question that their contributions make the world of The Sims better. However, we know that this does not absolve us from continuing to grow and improve as well.
We realize there isn’t one single fix for representation. We are dedicating people to ongoing commitments to continue improvement over the long term. Thank you for caring so much about each other and caring about your experiences in The Sims 4 and thank you for being part of our continued evolution.
Sul Sul!
I want to acknowledge your concerns about the variety of skin tones represented in The Sims 4 & I have some updates from the team to share. pic.twitter.com/Nzeg8VwllS
— Lyndsay Pearson (@SimGuruLyndsay) August 12, 2020
