The Sims 4 has been give a mature rating (18+) in Russia, a decision which is believed to be a result of the game’s portrayal of same-sex relationships.
The news, which was tweeted by The Sims 4‘s official Russian twitter account, comes after a law was recently revised in the country that has resulted in same-sex relationships now being considered harmful to children.
Speaking to Polygon, EA said that it has “no plans to alter The Sims 4.” Deborah Coster, a spokesperson for The Sims, said: “One of the key tenets of The Sims is that it is up to the player to decide how to play the game. We provide the simulation sandbox and player choice and creativity does the rest.”
The Sims‘ Russian twitter account stated that the mature rating had been “assigned in accordance with the law number 436-FZ,” which describes any media that portrays same-sex relationships as being “propaganda of non-traditional sexual relationships.”