Some of the biggest content creators for The Sims 4 have announced their departure from the EA Creator Network in the wake of the company's $55 billion Saudi-backed buyout.
James Turner, Jesse 'Plumbella' McNamara, and Kayla 'lilsimsie' Sims took to their respective YouTube accounts to reveal that they had requested to leave the programme—which offers its members access to games, events, and opportunities to work alongside development teams for each content creator's relevant game—specifically highlighting the buyout as the reason.
All three have been heavily involved in The Sims community and the developer itself for a number of years—they've all contributed towards packs either through creating lots or collaborating on kits like Plumbella's Pastel Pop Kit and lilsimsie's Comfy Gamer Kit.
James Turner has created all manner of tools and mods over the years too, as well as formerly running custom content website The Sim Supply. The trio are some of the biggest names in the Sims content creation space, which makes their departure over the buyout all the more damning.
In a post on his YouTube channel, James Turner wrote: "With the news of the buyout and understanding who will be owning EA in the future, I plan on shifting our focus to include more variety. In addition to that I have decided to leave the EA Creator Network and have asked to remove my creator code."
Those creator codes are essentially affiliate links, and while it's unclear how big a revenue stream that was for James Turner, it's still a pretty big stance to take. "I'm excited about what the future holds for the channel and the content, it will be a new chapter," he continued. "I've been on this platform creating videos for nearly 2 decades and in that time we've seen change, we've adapted, and this will give us that opportunity once again."
The same is seemingly the case for both Plumbella and lilsimsie. While the former didn't specifically mention removal of her creator code, she wrote: "Due to the recent sale, I have asked to leave the EA Creator Network and I will not buy or make content around any future release. I think taking this stand is the right choice for me personally, but I'm not going to judge anybody on their decision. I'm in a privileged position to be able to say I'm leaving so easily."
She added: "I hope that the sale falls through, and if it doesn't, I hope that those that stay put pressure on EA to maintain the level of inclusiveness that The Sims has always been about."
Lilsimsie echoed many of the sentiments written by both: "The values represented by the people acquiring EA are fundamentally at odds with what I stand for and support. I've been losing sleep over it for weeks, and I've been deeply struggling with what to do moving forward.
"I have so much love for The Sims. This game has completely shaped my entire life, and I care so deeply about The Sims and the community."
She added: "It is my hope that pressure from creators and the community might encourage EA’s leadership to reconsider the long-term impact of this sale and to preserve the values that have made The Sims so beloved ... Under this new ownership I feel I cannot maintain a direct association to the company. I also truly believe that they benefit more from my early access content than I do, and I think that stepping away is the strongest action I can take against the sale."
Regarding how the buyout has affected content creators and Simmers as a whole, lilsimsie continued: "This situation is a nightmare for our community. Nobody supports this sale, and it is putting creators in a very difficult position. They have built their entire career and livelihood over a game that they have no control over."
There'll undoubtedly be more creators coming out to announce their departure from the Creator Network before long—and I'm sure ones before this have stepped away in the weeks following the buyout announcement—but three of the most popular community figureheads doing this in a matter of hours feels huge.
Will it stop the buyout? No, but taking a stance like this in a mini-exodus is probably the best thing these creators could have done given the circumstances. It'll be interesting to see if it'll have any long-term impact, even if it's just an extra brush to tarnish EA's already crumbling reputation.
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