The Sims Creator Meltdown: Saudi Buyout Sparks Freakout Over Anti-LGBTQ Stance

Electronic Arts (EA) is being acquired for $55 billion in an all-cash deal by a consortium led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), alongside Silver Lake and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. The kingdom’s well-known opposition to LGBTQ+ rights was all it took to set The Sims community ablaze.

Saudi Arabia criminalizes homosexuality, bans same-sex relationships, and censors any media promoting queer themes. For a franchise built on self-expression—where roughly 43% of players identify as LGBTQ+—this was an immediate red line.

Within 48 hours of the September 29 announcement, top creators quit EA’s Creator Network en masse. Lilsimsie (Kayla Sims, 2M+ subscribers) led the charge in a tearful video: “The values represented by the people acquiring EA are fundamentally at odds with what I stand for and support. This situation is a nightmare for our community.” Plumbella wrote on X: “I hope the sale falls through, or if it doesn’t, I hope that those who stay put pressure on EA to maintain the inclusiveness that The Sims has always been about.” Devon Bumpkin refused to “financially promote” the new owners.

The backlash was instant and viral. #BoycottEA trended as fans panicked over potential removal of same-sex relationships, pronouns, or trans-inclusive features. One X post summed it up: “They literally behead gay people. I’m not funding that.”

But the reaction was wildly overblown. EA responded immediately: “Our mission, values, and commitment remain the same. The Sims will always be a space where you can express your authentic self.” The deal doesn’t close until early 2027, CEO Andrew Wilson stays, and HQ remains in California. PIF already held nearly 10% of EA for years—nothing changed. Its stakes in Nintendo and Activision haven’t touched queer content in Mario or Call of Duty.

The irony runs deep. Early Sims games kept sexuality quiet—same-sex relationships were possible in Sims 1 and 2, no fanfare, no prompts. Create-A-Sim was neutral. Then came the updates: 2022 made pronouns mandatory; 2023 added chest binders, tucking underwear, and mastectomy scars with tooltips on gender-affirming care. The sandbox turned into a seminar. Some longtime players deleted the game, calling character creation “an indoctrination exercise in doll’s clothing.”

Lilsimsie once cheered it on. Her 2021 video “EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT CUSTOM PRONOUNS!” hyped the binders and scars as “normalizing trans bodies.” Newsflash for Kayla: trans bodies aren’t normal; transgender individuals make up less than 1% of the population, dear.

Now she’s boycotting the same features if Saudi money is involved. The flip-flop is jarring—especially since PIF invests in Disney, Uber, and Starbucks. Where’s the boycott of Mickey or lattes?

X users pounced: “They’re mad the Saudis won’t let them force pronouns on pixels.” Another: “Saudi owns TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X—yet Sims is doomsday?”

The creators are giving up real perks—early access, revenue codes, thousands in income. But it’s symbolic, not structural. EA goes private either way. This isn’t leverage; it’s performance—virtue signaling at its finest.

Other concerns exist—AI layoffs, antitrust scrutiny—but for the Sims crowd, it’s the anti-LGBTQ bogeyman front and center. Until a single pronoun is deleted by Riyadh, this is outrage without evidence. Yet the tantrum rolls on.