EA Says Missing LGBTQ+ Sims Posts Were Not Deliberately Removed

Several older Sims LGBTQ+ posts suddenly disappeared from EA’s website last week.

The timing quickly raised concerns among players.

EA completed its $55 billion takeover earlier this month. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund now holds the dominant stake in the company.

So, when several Pride and LGBTQ+ pages started returning 404 errors, players naturally questioned what was happening.

EA has now responded.

According to the company, nobody deliberately removed the LGBTQ+ content. Instead, an ongoing website migration caused older articles to temporarily disappear.

Read the report containing EA’s explanation.

Which Sims LGBTQ Posts Disappeared?

Players noticed the broken links around August 19 and 20.

One of the most notable missing pages covered EA’s 2019 partnership with the It Gets Better Project.

That collaboration brought Pride clothing, Pride flags, and gender-neutral bathroom doors to The Sims 4.

Other older pages connected to Pride and gender inclusion also became unavailable.

Given the recent EA takeover, the missing pages quickly attracted attention.

However, players soon found that LGBTQ+ content wasn’t the only material affected.

Older news posts covering unrelated Sims updates also returned errors.

EA Says a Website Migration Caused the Problem

EA provided an explanation after the discussion spread.

The company says it is currently moving the backend of its website from one provider to another.

During that process, older articles may disappear and later return.

EA says the issue isn’t targeting LGBTQ+ content.

That explanation also fits the wider pattern of missing articles from the same period.

Importantly, the original The Sims x It Gets Better Project page has already returned to EA’s website.

See the restored 2019 It Gets Better article on EA

That gives some clear evidence that EA hasn’t permanently deleted the material.

Why Did Players Immediately Become Concerned?

The timing made the situation particularly sensitive.

EA’s new ownership structure has already caused significant debate within the Sims community.

At the same time, The Sims has spent years promoting LGBTQ+ representation.

The franchise has introduced same-sex relationships, Pride content, customizable pronouns, and dedicated sexual orientation settings.

EA has also repeatedly described inclusivity as a core Sims value.

That history made the sudden disappearance of several Sims LGBTQ posts stand out.

The company still hosts its detailed article about Sexual Orientation in The Sims 4, for example.

Read EA’s Sexual Orientation feature article

This Does Not Appear to Be a Content Purge

Right now, the evidence supports EA’s technical explanation.

Unrelated older articles also disappeared. EA says a backend migration caused the issue. At least one prominent Pride article has already returned.

There is currently no evidence that EA ordered the removal of LGBTQ+ Sims history because of the takeover.

That doesn’t make the original concern unreasonable.

Players noticed several sensitive pages disappearing shortly after a controversial ownership change. Asking questions made sense.

However, the latest information gives us a much less dramatic explanation.

For now, the missing Sims LGBTQ posts appear to be another side effect of EA rebuilding its website.

And with the 2019 It Gets Better page already back online, we should hopefully see more of the older material return too.