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
The Most Powerful Women Daily newsletter is Fortune’s daily briefing for and about the women leading the business world. Today’s edition was curated by Nina Ajemian. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Baseless blame.President Donald Trump blamed DEI initiatives for the deadly plane crash outside of Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined—plus, 78% of air traffic controllers and specialists in airfield operations are men. Axios
- Nose dive. JetBlue stock saw its largest one-day percentage decrease in over 20 years earlier this week, falling more than 25%, after the airline disappointed investors with its financial outlook. CEO Joanna Geraghty said the company is “focused on the long term here in getting JetBlue back to sustained profitability.” Wall Street Journal
- Chip competition. Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner said that the U.S. revoking the ban on exporting Nvidia AI chips would be a “huge victory” for China and Chinese AI company DeepSeek. “China is doing everything they can to keep up with the U.S. in AI, and they’re doing well at fast-following,” Toner said. “But to imply they’re out ahead of us is clearly wrong.” Fortune
- Hoop hopes. A group of investors, including former WNBA player Candace Parker and country music singer Faith Hill, are bidding to bring a WNBA team to Nashville. In other women’s basketball news, Charlotte is getting a team in the UpShot League, which tips off in May 2026.
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Flexxible, a workspace management software company, appointed Nieves Franco as CEO. Previously, she was CEO of Arsys.
Media agency Assembly named Jill Kelly North America CEO, succeeding Valerie Davis. Kelly was previously CEO of EssenceMediacom.
Creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors named Justine Armour global chief creative officer. Most recently, Armour was partner and chief creative officer at Fig.
Shield, which provides compliance and risk management solutions for financial services, named Tal Raziel-Yosef chief people officer and Adi Yaari-Fubini chief customer officer. Most recently, Raziel-Yosef was chief people officer at Dynamic Yield and Yaari-Fubini was chief customer officer at Priority Software.
Gravita, an accountancy firm, appointed Heather Swanston as chair of its board of directors. She was previously a partner at PwC.
ON MY RADAR
Only 3 Black women have won the Grammys’ top award. Is Beyoncé next?New York Times
Trump’s DEI purge guts Air Force team tackling obstacles for womenWashington Post
Sarah McNally’s book clubVulture
PARTING WORDS
“I think the thing I’d like in my forties is to discover all the ways I can show up better for people in my life. All the ways that I can create positivity and joy. Music’s just one way that I do it.”
— Singer Lady Gaga onwanting to focus on the people around her
