The Sims 4 Base Game To Become Permanently Free From Next Month

EA and Maxis have announced that The Sims 4 is going free-to-play from next month.

The base game for The Sims 4 will become permanently free from October 18th, 2022, for all platforms, including PC and Mac via Origin and Steam, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

However, the game’s slew of expansion packs, stuff packs, game packs, and kits will not be free, and Maxis has confirmed that it will continue to “develop and release packs, kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future”.

Meanwhile, players who already own a copy of the base game can claim the Desert Luxe Kit as a gift between September 14th and October 17th via the game’s main menu. The pack comes with indoor and outdoor furniture inspired by the Southwestern desert.

Alongside announcing the above news, EA and Maxis also confirmed they’ll be hosting a Behind The Sims Summit stream on The Sims YouTube and Twitch channels on October 18th, where they’ll share “more about what’s in the works”.

The Sims 4 was released in 2014 to mixed reviews due to missing essential content from the base game like toddlers at the time of release. Although this has since been addressed, the fourth main instalment in the life sim franchise continues to receive criticism for its numerous bugs and giant catalogue of DLC compared to past games.

Check out our opinion piece on why The Sims franchise may be dead.