Exciting news comes from publisher Electronic Arts and the developer Maxis. The studio teamed up with black beauty brand Dark & Lovely and gaming content creator Danielle “Ebonix” Udogaranya. The goal of this partnership is to bring more inclusive customization features to The Sims 4 and help more players to see themselves in games.
Inclusivity is one of the key values for Maxis. The developers affirm that they know that inclusion matters, and aim to ensure everyone feels represented, both in games and also in how they work, ingrained in the very culture of the studio. The partnership with Dark & Lovely and Ebonix led to the creation of “Play in Color”. It is both a campaign and a documentary that shines a spotlight on the importance of authentic representation in gaming.
“For much of the history of the video game industry, authentic representation and features of people of color and other marginalized communities have been significantly underrepresented. These groups have made up a substantial segment of the gaming community from the very beginning, but games have often dramatically underrepresented Black hairstyles in particular.”
Previously The Sims 4 also released the Vitiligo Skin features as a free base game update, but the developers don’t intend to stop there. Building on previous collaborations with Ebonix, the team is working with the hair professionals at Dark & Lovely to introduce 24 color combinations across two existing hairstyles in April 2024.
A free content drop in July 2024 will introduce new locs hairstyle that’s also developed in collaboration with Dark & Lovely.
