Electronic Arts has delayed the launch of The Sims 4's wedding-themed DLC after reversing its decision to skip a Russian release.
Alongside developer Maxis, the publisher decided not to drop the content in the country, which was initially said to be due to Russia's restrictive laws for LGBT+ content.
However, Russian gamers were confused, as they pointed out that not only were other countries not skipped, but its laws don't apply to games rated 18+ in the region, which means 'The Sims 4' would be exempt.
Now, EA has confirmed 'My Wedding Stories' will be released "unaltered and uncharged" as part of a global drop, albeit on February 23 instead of Thursday's (17.02.22) planned launch.
In a statement, EA said: "At the time, we believed that our team could not freely share the storytelling of same-sex couple Cam and Dom in Russia and decided the best way to uphold our commitment to sharing their story was to not release this pack there.
"Since then, we’ve been listening to the outpouring of feelings from our community including both support for our decision and concern for their fellow community members. "It’s equally important for us to stand by our values, including standing against homophobia, and to share stories like this with those who want and need it most.
"With this in mind, we’ve reassessed our options and realized we can do more than we initially believed and we will now release The Sims 4 'My Wedding Stories' Game Pack to our community in Russia, unaltered and unchanged, featuring Dom and Cam."
The studio added that the game's community will "continue to be a safe space". They continued: "Love is love, and The Sims community will continue to be a safe space for those who want to see a world where that is true for everyone. "We are thankful for the support of our team and our values even when it is hard. Thank you for being a part of The Sims."