As an avid Sims player for over 10 years, this is one of the most common questions I see from new players. The great news is that Sims Freeplay provides a variety of options to change your Sims‘ gender identity!
In this detailed guide, I‘ll walk you through how to swap gender on adult Sims, babies, and children. Whether you‘re playing on mobile, PC/Mac, or using mods, you‘ll have the power to explore your Sims‘ inner selves. Let‘s dive in!
Using the Ultimate Makeover on Adult Sims
The easiest way to gender swap your existing adult Sims is through the Ultimate Makeover feature. Here‘s a step-by-step walkthrough:
Tap directly on the Sim you want to modify to pull up their profile. Make sure they aren‘t actively doing anything first.
In the bottom right corner of the profile, tap on the purple Ultimate Makeover icon (it looks like a dressing room mirror).
This will pull up the full create-a-Sim designer menu! Here you can completely remake your Sim.
To change gender, tap on the pink female or blue male symbols at the top left.
Choose the opposite gender than what your Sim currently is.
That‘s it! With one tap, your Sim‘s gender will be swapped instantly. Their physique, hair, makeup, clothing, and pregnancy ability will all adjust to match their new gender selection.
As a Sims expert for over a decade, I highly recommend taking a few minutes to further customize their look after changing gender. Play around with the powerful customization tools. Change their physique sliders, facial features, hair styles, makeup colors, and clothing outfits until you‘ve created their ideal look.
When you‘re satisfied, tap the check mark in the top right to save your new Sim!
The Ultimate Makeover does cost 12 Lifestyle Points. But in my opinion, it‘s 100% worth it for the immediate gender swap plus ability to remake any Sim entirely. This has been my go-to method for changing gender on adult Sims.
Retiring Elderly Sims to Remake Their Gender
Another way to change an existing Sim‘s gender is through retirement. When your Sims reach old age and their portrait turns black & white, you‘ll get the option to retire them.
Retiring a Sim basically resets them back to a "young adult" life stage. It also gives you a fresh canvas to completely redesign them!
Follow these steps to swap gender through retirement:
Let your elderly Sim live out their final life stage until the retire icon pops up.
Tap the retirement trophy cup icon next to their portrait.
Confirm you want to retire them. Your Sim will wave goodbye and disappear from your town.
Head to the Create a New Sim menu. You should see your retired Sim there!
Fully customize their look from scratch, including picking their new gender.
Finalize your changes to add the redesigned Sim back into your town.
Voila! Through retirement, you can remake Sims of any age and gender at no cost. The downside is losing their existing home, relationships, skills, and inventory. But if you‘re focused strictly on gender swapping, it‘s a great free option!
Over the years, I‘ve used both the Ultimate Makeover and retirement methods to change up my Sims‘ gender expression. They each have their pros and cons, so choose the option that best fits your gameplay needs.
Cheats and Mods for PC/Mac Players
For Simmers playing Sims Freeplay on PC or Mac, you have access to even more tools for gender customization through cheats and mods.
Here are a few of my favorites:
cas.fulleditmode – This cheat code lets you enter full Create-a-Sim mode on any adult Sim. You can change their gender, name, traits, skills, relationships, and more in one click! After typing "testingcheats true", simply shift-click your Sim and type in cas.fulleditmode.
Sims 4 Gender Customization Mod – This mod by Scumbumbo adds separate sliders for gender-specific physique, clothing preferences, pregnancy ability, toilet use, and more. You have full control over each aspect of gender expression.
TURBO CAS Makeup Mod – Includes a shortcut button to instantly change a Sim‘s gender without having to go through all the CAS menus. Perfect for quick gender swapping!
Children Can… – This mod by Twallan includes options for gender customization on babies, kids, and teens in CAS.
As with any mods, make sure to carefully follow installation instructions. Used properly, mods can open up a whole new world of customization tools!
Swapping Gender on Babies and Children
Changing gender on babies and children in Sims Freeplay takes a bit more work. Since they can‘t directly use the Ultimate Makeover, you have a couple options:
Age Them Up – Once the baby becomes a toddler or the child becomes a teen, use the Ultimate Makeover on them. This is the easiest official method.
Retire Them – If they are in your household, wait until they are elders then retire them. Remake from scratch.
Adopt Them – Move them out of your household, then go adopt them again as the new gender.
PC Mods – Use mods like Children Can to directly customize gender on babies and kids.
While limited, with a little creativity, you can find a way to swap gender on younger Sims as they grow up. My advice is to simply let them age up naturally, then modify to your heart‘s content!
Final Thoughts on Gender Customization
As you can see, Sims Freeplay provides a solid amount of options to explore your Sims‘ gender identities. With the Ultimate Makeover, retirement, cheats, and mods, you have the tools you need.
My top tips:
Ultimate Makeover – Best for quick adult Sim gender swaps. Customize them fully after changing gender.
Retire Elderly Sims – Remake Sims of any age from scratch for free. Cost is losing relationships/skills.
CAS Cheats & Mods – PC/Mac only, but allow the most customization. Do your research before installing mods.
Age Up Babies/Kids – Wait for them to age up before modifying gender through Makeover or retirement.
I hope this guide gives you a better understanding of the process so you can spark your creativity! As a fellow Simmer, I encourage you to have fun playing around with these tools. Explore your Sims‘ identities. Break gender stereotypes. Create truly unique townspeople. The possibilities are endless!
Let me know if you have any other questions. I‘m always happy to chat about new Sims tips and tricks with fellow players. Game on!
