Good morning! Trump blames DEI for deadly D.C. plane crash, JetBlue's financial outlook disappoints, and the women-led team behind The Sims celebrates a milestone. Have an amazing weekend.
- The Sims's next life stage. Put fans of The Sims in a room or online forum together, and there’s no shortage of game modifications to learn, design hacks to master, and in-game lore to discover. But it won't be long until the discussion inevitably turns to a dirty not-so-secret among players of all ages, one of every devotee of the game's rites of passage.
"There's something really beautiful watching a Sims player meet another Sims player," says Lyndsay Pearson, vice president of franchise creative for the game. "They eventually admit that they've killed somebody."
Because while from the outside the game may look like a cozy simulacrum of life in the ’burbs, fans flock to it for the creative freedom not only to build out their dream homes, but to build out an entire dream reality, one in which Sims may lie, cheat, steal, and, yes, be murdered to further the player's desired storyline. And whether done intentionally by, say, removing a pool’s steps after the Sim goes for a dip, or unintentionally via a house fire or meteor strike, killing off a Sim is one of the many elements of the iconic life simulation video game that has helped it become one of the best-selling of all time.
As it celebrates its 25th anniversary on Feb. 4, Pearson and Rachel Franklin, senior vice president at Electronic Arts (EA), recently spoke with me about their careers in game development and what they see for the future of the franchise that has driven over $5 billion in revenue. And they sang the praises of the creativity within the fandom—even if it leads to a character death or two. (Full disclosure: I’ve been a player since the first Sims game for the PC and have "killed" my fair share of Sims.)
Both women are veterans of EA, the game's publisher, and Pearson loved the game well before she started working there in 2002. In fact, she started her time at EA as a QA tester in college before moving into full time design work. Two decades later, her fingerprints are on every iteration of the game—its most recent release is The Sims 4, though there are many other expansion and game packs—and now leads its long-term creative vision. She has been behind much of players' beloved lore, like the “What happened to Bella Goth” mystery (spoiler: she was abducted by aliens) that fans new and old obsess over.
Franklin also has decades of experience in game development, first as an engineer and now as the leader of EA’s entire lifestyle entertainment team.
Though gaming is still a male-dominated industry that has plenty of well-documented issues bringing more women into the fold, Pearson and Franklin say The Sims has always been a welcoming home to female talent. Diversity and inclusion are foundational to the game, which allows players to create avatars of themselves—whether true-to-life or dream versions—friends, and family.
"Female leadership has just been part of our DNA from the beginning," says Pearson of working on the franchise. "We play a really important role, just in the industry, in showing a way a team can work that really builds inclusivity without even thinking about it."
In fact, EA more broadly has implemented a strategy known as "positive play," which focuses on creating a community in which people feel welcome while still being themselves. The Sims’ global workforce, with employees of all races, ages, and genders, helps them succeed with their mission, says Franklin.
"I've had many experiences where you have a member of a team say, ‘Hey, I can’t make myself in this game,’" she says. "And you need that push, you need that voice, you need somebody on the team saying, 'Hey, we need to do better.' That inevitably makes it better for your players."
Pearson and Franklin promise plenty of surprises for devoted community members to celebrate a quarter century of the game. And of course, there’s The Sims live-action movie to look forward to.
For Franklin, the best part of the game is the safe space the Sims universe offers to players.
"There's cause and effect and freedom and the ability to create, but there's also always optimism, and always kind of a way out of the gnarly mess that you may have gotten your Sim into," she says. While players may kill off their Sims, they can also resurrect them.
Alicia Adamczyk
alicia.adamczyk@fortune.com
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