The Sims series has been around for 16 years, but Electronic Arts and developer Maxis have always kept player character creation confined to established gender roles. A new patch for The Sims 4 has removed those limitations.

The update, released today, now lets players customize their characters with any hairstyle voice, walk, or clothes they want. It even will allow players to choose "the physique of the Sim (does the Sim have a masculine or feminine frame), toilet behavior, and whether or not they can become pregnant," although it clarified that children do not have customize option, while teens do. "But while they can set their pregnancy preferences, they will have to wait until they become young adults for the choice to be active."

EA and Maxis have made more than 700 items that were previously available to only male or female characters now available to all, according to a story by the Associated Press. "Female Sims can wear sharp men's suits like Ellen (DeGeneres), and male Sims can wear heels like Prince," The Sims 4 executive producer Rachel Franklin said, adding that Maxis worked with LBGT advocacy group GLAAD on the update.

Lead producer Lyndsay Pearson told GameSpot that Maxis was responding to the diversity in the world. "We also saw this as an awesome opportunity to continue to nurture an inclusive environment for our community. The Sims Team is a diverse group that makes a game for a diverse audience, and we want everyone to be able to create who they want.”

While some may be upset by the change, EA's SimGuruHouts said on reddit that "You can use filters to limit CAS stuff so you only see masculine or feminine assets if you want."