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Sims 4’s same-sex wedding stories expansion will come to Russia after all

Wedding bells are ringing for Russian <em>Sims</em> fans.

Enlarge / Wedding bells are ringing for Russian Sims fans.

Last week, the team behind The Sims 4 “My Wedding Stories” expansion pack—which includes a heavy focus on same-sex marriages—said that the expansion wouldn’t be released in Russia where “our storytelling would be subject to changes because of federal laws.” Now, video game company EA has reversed that decision, saying the expansion will in fact be released in Russia “unaltered and unchanged” alongside the rest of the world.

In an update posted Wednesday afternoon on the Electronic Arts website, The Sims team writes that it previously believed that “our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia.” That’s an apparent oblique reference to Russia’s Article 6.13.1 law, which prohibits “propaganda or homosexualism among minors.” Given that law, the team had decided that “the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack [in Russia].”

Now, the team behind the game says it has “reassessed our options and realized we can do more than we initially believed…” The “My Wedding Stories” pack will now launch in Russia and the rest of the world on February 23, a delay of a few days from its original planned launch date of February 17.

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