About EA...
Dear all,
It’s been a tough month in The Sims community. Many of you already know it by now, but it was recently announced that EA (owner of Maxis and The Sims franchise) has agreed to be acquired by deeply questionable investment funds: Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of the infamous USA president Donald Trump, through his firm Affinity Partners and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, directed by the Saudi regime, which has been widely condemned by organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for major human rights violations, and for using investments in worldwide companies and states to expand political influence.
Many simmers, players, content creators, and EA Creator Network members have expressed their concern that this is terrible news for The Sims community. The new owners have proven multiple times that they stand against everything this community represents. The Sims and its community has always been a space of inclusivity & diversity, a space for marginalised communities, and everyone who found a safe place to be and express themselves.
I know that for many of us, The Sims has been a space for self-expression and acceptance, where we can tell stories freely, reflect, and be ourselves, without judgement. And I share your sadness and anger about what this sale means for us.
If this buyout goes through (which is very likely at this point) The Sims, Maxis, and EA will belong to its new owners somewhere between 2026-2027. It's possible that changes could come to the franchise, and continuing to buy and promote EA products will inevitably fund these new owners and their actions, even outside of the company. Because of that, many creators have already chosen to leave the EA Creator Network, to stop promoting or buying new packs, or for some to even step away from the franchise completely. Many players have made the same decisions, which I completely understand, respect, and support!
Where I stand
As most of you know, I’ve always been independent from EA (for multiple reasons, including the fact that the only time I ever heard from them, it was from their lawyers with a Cease and Desist request). I have never joined the EA Creator programs and do not intend to do so in the future. I don’t promote EA’s packs and do not plan to start now. I occasionally share a post on social media regarding a new pack, and do not plan to do so again in the future. There shouldn’t be a big change in my content because of this, but it's so heartbreaking to see the impact the buyout has on the whole community, its players and its creators.
What I love about my work is the freedom to create and share my own ideas, at my own pace, without a boss or a company telling me what to do or say. That independence and freedom of creation and expression has been such an important part of my life since I started to create content for the Sims back in 2020. But what I love the most about my work is telling stories through my creations, using The Sims and other mediums as tools to share my ideas and adventures with the world, and that will not change.
My mods have always been and will always remain available for everyone, for free (often with a short early access period for Patreon supporters) and independent. This is very important to me because it makes it possible for more people to play, experience, and enjoy what I create. And when I put out a project or a story and it's played by simmers around the whole world… it is everything to me, and I’m so grateful to have such a passionate and loving community.
This is what The Sims is all about. Being able to express yourself and share your imagination with the world. And I don't want to let these capitalist-fascist investors take that away from us. The Sims is OUR game. It belongs to its players, its makers, content creators, and everyone who has supported it since its first release in 2000. It belongs to the weird kids, lonely adults, geeks, dreamers, queers, Black, Asian and all POC simmers, neurodivergent people, women in gaming, drag queens, trans people, and everyone else who has contributed to make this game alive across the whole world for decades. It's our world, and I cannot completely give up for now the game that helped me find and accept myself as a kid, and still continues to be a safe space for me, my friends, and for all of us.
I respect every creator's and player’s decisions to either continue to engage or not with the Sims products, network, or its community. This choice is personal, and everyone is allowed to make their voices heard and say how they feel and how they will respond to this event that affects all of us in different ways.
My commitments for the future
I will personally continue my work as a modder, still independently from EA, and stay true to my values with several commitments. Here's what I planned for the foreseeable future (at least the next 1-2 years):
I will not promote future EA packs, and I will never make my mods depend on them.
I will continue to create and share free content for The Sims 4, and always independent from EA. (I will soon be able to also share custom worlds with my World Edit 3 mod pack - which is nearing completion, and it will make customized worlds possible for everyone, for free.)
I will keep creating adventures and tell my stories through The Sims 4, but also outside of the game with other creative projects.
I will keep updating my existing mods and remaking some of my older ones (work still in progress!)
I will try to keep my mods compatible with older versions of the game for those who decide to stop updating their game now.
I will do my very best to preserve inclusivity and representation in my work and also in the game, and to keep The Sims a safe and welcoming space for everyone.
I will keep listening to your voices through community polls, and continue building content based on what you want for the game.
I am open to collaborations with other creators, maybe to build community made expansion packs together, free for everyone, close to our values, and independent from EA.
I am also open to engage in any union/collaborative initiatives, to make our voices loud as a community, put pressure on the company to not remove things from the game or change its values, and act upon it.
I will explore modding possibilities for Paralives when it comes out, which I’m really excited about!
What we can do as a community
As a community, there are several ways to make our voices heard, to say that we disagree with the buyout, to be able to keep playing the sims without supporting its new owners, and to preserve our beloved game, its values, and its beautiful community. Here's a few points I thought of: (feel free to share your own ideas and thoughts in the comments down below)
Keep the discussion alive, spread awareness, and make it clear that we do not support this acquisition and what it stands for!
Engage in community surveys, discussions, petitions, and anything to make our voices heard. We are already making a lot of noise, letting EA know that we are here and united!
We could stop buying packs if the buyout goes through, and enjoy the free content and the packs we already own.
Support, share, play, and showcase projects, creations and mods made by the community, for the community.
Protect our values as a community: inclusivity, diversity, representation, creativity, and freedom of expression. And remember that there's always more power in unity!
The Sims has always been about imagination, and more importantly people. No amount of money or corporate greed can take away the memories, the stories, the friendships, and all the things this community has built over more than two decades.
Our worlds, our stories, our creativity, THAT is The Sims. It was (and never will be) theirs to own, our collective soul will never be owned. WE ARE the Sims, it will always belong to us.
Even if EA changes, or if the future of the franchise becomes uncertain, I'm sure that what we’ve built together will last. There will always be a place for creativity, diversity, and kindness, whether it’s inside The Sims, in Paralives, or in any future world we decide to build together.
I’ll keep doing my part, I’ll keep creating, sharing my creations, and I’ll keep making sure that what we love about The Sims doesn’t disappear.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart, for being an amazing community, for playing with my creations, for standing by each other, and for continuing to believe in this community.
Let’s stay loud, stay proud, and never stop creating!!
Love, Arnie 💜