This week Electronic Arts revealed newly redesigned box art for its best-selling game The Sims 4 which, in a major groundbreaking move, features an LGBTQ couple. It is the first-ever LGBTQ couple in cover art for a game from a major studio. Sims characters Dela Ostrow and Mia Hayes, pictured in the lower left, are described as girlfriends within the game itself.

“The Sims franchise has been an industry leader on LGBTQ representation and this week it crossed another milestone. We applaud Electronic Arts and Maxis for putting an LGBTQ couple front and center on its new, rebranded box art for The Sims 4. LGBTQ players have been a major part of The Sims community from the beginning, and this recognition and visibility is important and well deserved. This is a breakthrough moment for representation in the video game space, and we encourage others to step up and match this kind of visibility in their new releases and updates,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD.

The Sims Mobile was among the nominees for the inaugural Outstanding Video Game category at the GLAAD Media Awards earlier this year, the latest in GLAAD’s emerging work to ensure that video games and the gaming community become more inclusive. In 2016, transgender and gender expansive characters were added to The Sims 4 through a collaboration between GLAAD and Electronic Arts. GLAAD is proudly continuing to work with industry partners and lead conversations at major gaming events, including E3, DICE, and PAX, to promote LGBTQ acceptance in gaming.