TL;DR

• The Sims posted a surprise Wicked-themed Gelphie kiss, sending queer fans into a frenzy.
• The crossover arrives just before Wicked: For Good hits cinemas.
• Gelphie, the fan-favorite sapphic ship, has long been embraced by LGBTQ+ audiences.
• Fans celebrated the post but remain wary after EA’s acquisition by Saudi- and Kushner-linked investors.
• The moment highlights the importance of queer visibility in gaming.

THE SIMS GOES FULL SAPPHIC SORCERY WITH A GELPHIE KISS

Somewhere in the EA corporate universe, an intern with courage, charisma, and possibly a death wish pitched: “What if we make Elphaba and Glinda from Wicked make out in The Sims?”

And somehow, someway, their boss said yes.

The official Sims X account lit the internet on fire this week after posting a Sim-ified Elphaba and Glinda — green girl, pink girl, the sapphic slow burn to end all slow burns — sharing a full kiss ahead of the release of Wicked: For Good. And the caption? Simply:

“No spoilers here, just our true end game.”

Yes, the Sims just declared Gelphie Rights. Corporate queerness has truly entered its chaotic golden age.

FANS GO FULL CAPS LOCK

It took approximately 0.7 seconds for the LGBTQ+ corners of the internet to combust. Gelphie shippers — a passionate, slightly feral fandom that’s been reading sapphic subtext into Wicked since the Bush administration — descended joyfully upon the tweet.

“The Sims posting this and being Gelphie truthers???? helllo??” one fan shrieked.

Another joked that director Jon M. Chu practically “threw the second brick at Stonewall and it was yellow.”

And perhaps the most accurate reaction:
“I didn’t know a corporate environment where you can pitch Gelphie kissing and your boss says ‘what the hell, sure’ could actually exist. That’s beautiful fr.”

It’s rare for fans to watch a major brand lean that hard into queer shipping culture without apologizing to someone’s shareholders afterward. But EA — for this one shining moment — said “screw it, let the witches kiss.”

WHY GELPHIE MATTERS TO LGBTQ FANS

From the beginning, Wicked has been a queer classic. Elphaba? Othered, misunderstood, targeted. Glinda? Femme-coded perfection with a spine of steel. Their relationship? Textbook sapphic yearning disguised as “besties.”

The novel’s gay author, Gregory Maguire, may not have explicitly written them as lovers, but he certainly left the bisexual lighting on.

By the time Ariana Grande — who once said Glinda is “a little bit queer” — joined Cynthia Erivo for the film adaptation, the fandom’s imagination went supernova. Grande herself admitted she didn’t realize how “graphic” Gelphie fanfic could be until she had the misfortune of stumbling onto the internet.

The Sims leaning into that legacy isn’t just fanservice — it’s cultural recognition.

THE SHADOW LOOMING OVER THE CELEBRATION

But beneath the glitter, pride flags, and pixelated lesbian sorcery, fans have real concerns.

Earlier this year, EA was acquired by a consortium linked to the Saudi Public Investment Fund — controlled by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman — and Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners. Given both entities’ well-documented hostility toward LGBTQ rights, many players feared queer-inclusive features in The Sims might be quietly stripped away.

The Sims franchise, after all, has been a global leader in representation — from same-sex relationships (back in 2000!) to gender customization, top-surgery scars, pronouns, and even polyamory.

EA CEO Andrew Wilson insisted the company’s “values remain unchanged,” though he strategically avoided mentioning The Sims, LGBTQ content, or diversity features directly.

So when The Sims posted a Gelphie kiss — during a political climate where queer content is increasingly targeted — fans weren’t just amused. They were relieved.

THE LGBTQ IMPACT: A WIN IN A TENSE MOMENT

Corporate allyship is rarely perfect, but sometimes a single moment — two witchy Sims kissing — can resonate far beyond the pixels.

It tells queer gamers:
“We see you. You belong here.”
And in a time when LGBTQ rights face global pushback, visibility in major franchises matters more than ever.

For now, the witches are kissing, the fans are screaming, and Gelphie stans everywhere finally feel vindicated.

And honestly? That’s the kind of magic gaming needs.