Surrogacy is being added to The Sims 4

Alongside the free Infant update for The Sims 4, the team over at Maxis have also included a brand new feature: surrogacy.

The Sims 4 have slowly been introducing new and inclusive ways for players to control their Sims and their stories. For example, players are currently able to pick and select which of their Sims could get others/become pregnant through Create-A-Sim, allowing for more diverse narratives and playstyles for Simmers. Alternatively, players were also able to adopt through using their Sim’s mobile phones.

However, with the new (and free) Infant update coming in two weeks time, a brand new option on how to have newborns in The Sims 4 has been added: Science Babies, aka surrogacy. To sum it up: players are able to have their Sims connect with a surrogate and have a baby with them, opening up new narrative potential for LGBTQ+ couples for example.

How it works is that your Sim – who doesn’t need to be in a romantic relationship with the surrogate whatsoever – is able to ask another Sim if they would like to carry the baby for them. Again, these are called Science Babies and are effectively a fancy way of saying surrogacy. If the Sim agrees, they will be impregnated and the Sim will go through the usual stages of pregnancy until they give birth.

Sims who added genetic materials are considered the parents, however you are able to establish family dynamics through CAS. This means that, even if your Sim’s biological father is Bob Pancakes and their step-father is Caleb Vatore, your Sim won’t necessarily view Bob Pancakes as the best thing since sliced bread.

Science Babies will feature alongside the new Infant update when it releases for PC and console on March 14.