Update 10/26: Maxis has commented on the petition:

When it comes to representation, it's not a destination, it's a journey that we are continuously working towards across the board. We've seen and read your comments regarding Non-Binary Pronouns and their availability in-game. At this time, we can't confirm anything in regards to timing, but what we can say is that for a long time our team has been evaluating ways to add gender-neutral language while considering how complex it would be to do so. Currently, we've been investigating the changes needed considering not only the size of our game, but the possibilities for all of our 18 supported languages to make sure that we do this work the best way possible. This is super important to all of us, which means we want to make sure we do it right.

Thank you all for the continued support of a truly representative environment in-game. We are hopeful for the future and look forward to sharing progress when we are able to as well as our future plans for this aspect and others across the game.

Original story follows.

The Sims 4 was released over seven years ago and it's been updated frequently ever since as Maxis adds more content to it, but one feature is still missing from the game that more than 20,000 fans have signed a petition to include: gender-neutral pronouns. The Change.org petition is continuing to grow in backers as more of the community realizes that it's high time for inclusive gender language to be added to the game to account for those who use gender-neutral pronouns..

Started by Twitch streamer Momo Misfortune, the petition recognizes how much The Sims 4 has already been updated to accommodate members of the LGBT+ community, but says that the use of gendered language based on each Sim's body type should be removed. Instead, the petition suggests that players should be able to select which pronouns their Sims use and have older titles updated to use gender-neutral language.

RELATED: 60% of Sims 4 Players Are Women Aged 18-24

It seems like Maxis is willing to let The Sims 4 change into fitting the current standards in terms of lifestyles and gender identity as it opened the door for true customization by not locking things like clothing items, body types, and voices to specific genders. Additionally, as the petition points out, recent content packs have deemphasized gendered language by referring to Sims directly with their names instead of by pronouns, but there are still uses of gender-specific language in the title.

sims petition

The Sims is all about customization and allowing players to control every aspect of their Sims' lives, so it only makes sense for Maxis to allow players to customize their character's pronouns in the same way that they customize every other part of their lives. The game already includes other inclusive options in terms of sexuality as well, so it seems like just a matter of time until gender-neutral language is added.

The petition was created earlier this year and is almost at its signature goal. EA hasn't addressed it yet, but the petition states that even if it doesn't change anything for The Sims 4, hopefully, someone at EA or Maxis notices and includes gender-neutral language for The Sims 5 or other Sims content coming down the road. Petitions have been successful at changing The Sims in the past like with the addition of more skin tone diversity, so hopefully, EA takes notice and listens to the collective voices of its community to make the game more inclusive than ever.

The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

MORE: Why The Sims 4 Needs Pronouns and Gender Neutrality

Source: Change.org