Gaming

The Sims official X account really just said ‘Gelphie rights!’ in Wicked crossover

The Sims said Gelphie rights (Universal Pictures/EA)

The Sims said Gelphie rights (Universal Pictures/EA)

Whoever pitched a Sim-ified Elphaba and Glinda make out session to the EA social media manager, Gelphie stans salute you.

Jon M Chu’s two-part film adaption of the hit stage musical – which itself was based on Gregory Maguire’s revisionist Wizard of Oz novel – stars Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, who becomes known as the Wicked Witch of the West, and Ariana Grande as Galinda, later Glinda, the Good Witch.

The first part was released in November 2024 and absolutely smashed box office records while songs from the film, longtime favourites of musical buffs, rocketed up the mainstream music charts.

Wicked: For Good, the second part and which is based on the second act of the Broadway musical, hits cinemas on Friday (21 November).

Ahead of the film’s high anticipated release, the team behind the social accounts for ever-popular life simulation game The Sims posted a tribute to Wicked‘s most popular pairing, the enemies-to-lovers archetype and ship that set sail countless fanfics: Gelphie.

“No spoilers here, just our true end game,” the official @TheSims account wrote, alongside a screenshot from the game of two Sims – created to look like Elphaba and Glinda – sharing a smooch.

Since the very beginning, Wicked has long attracted a huge and passionate LGBTQ+ fanbase because of the story’s themes of otherness, prejudice and equality. Many fans of the both the book – which was written by a gay author – and the musical, also staunchly believe that the relationship between Elphaba and Glinda is more than a close friendship and has some seriously sapphic subtext.

Gelphie, as a WLW ship, has attracted thousands of fan fictions and pieces of fan art over the years. In fact, Grande, who once said Glinda was “a little bit queer”, admitted before taking on the role she did not realise how “graphic” the fan content can be, telling The Hollywood Reporter that on the “the Gelphie stuff” she wished she could “unsee some things”.

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“The Sims posting this and being Gelphie truthers ????? helllo ???,” one excited fan replied to the post.

“In some ways it’s like Jon M. Chu threw the second brick at stonewall and it was yellow,” another jokingly wrote in response.

“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,” a third said.

The Sims has been a staple of most casual gamers catalogues since it was first released in 2000 and has long been a leader in inclusion in gaming, creating a wide-range of features that reflect the diversity of the real world including introducing polyamory, sexuality customisation, Pride-themed content and the ability to create transgender and disabled sims who have top surgery scars and medical wearables.

However, many fans were left worried that LGBTQ+ content in the game could be under threat when it was announced at the start of October that EA has been bought out by an investor consortium that includes the Saudi Arabian-run Public Investment Fund, headed by Saudi Arabian ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Affinity Partners, which is owned by Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Andrew Wilson, CEO of EA, said in a statement following the sale the company’s “values” would “remain unchanged” – but did not mention The Sims specifically.

“Our mission at EA to — Inspire The World To Play — continues to guide everything we do. Our values and our commitment to players and fans around the world remain unchanged.

“With continued rigor and operational excellence, we can amplify the creativity of our teams, accelerate innovation, and pursue transformative opportunities that position EA to lead the future of entertainment.

“Together, we’ll create experiences that are bold, expressive, and deeply connected to inspire generations of players around the world,” he said as part of a larger statement.

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