Although The Sims 3 was highly criticised throughout its run for its bugs, lag, and unique looking Sims, the third mainline iteration in The Sims series helped revolutionise the franchise by introducing two gameplay mechanics never seen before; an open world and Create-A-Style. The game was built upon greatly with the release of 11 expansion packs and 9 stuff packs, but what are the best Sims 3 expansion packs? You can find out right here along with information on where you can grab all of these packs.
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Complete List Of All Sims 3 Expansion Packs In Order
In total, there have been 20 DLC packs, all of which add new clothing, hairstyles, objects, and interactions. Many of the packs also introduce new careers, wishes, opportunities, buildings, lifetime wishes, traits, and more. Take a look below for a complete list of all Sims 3 expansion packs in their release order.
Sims 3 Expansion Packs List
The Sims 3: World Adventures
The Sims 3: World Adventures was the first expansion pack for The Sims 3 and, similarly to The Sims 2: Bon Voyage and The Sims: Vacation, World Adventures allowed your sims to travel internationally to three unique vacation worlds which your sims can explore. They are; Shang Simla (Based on China), Champs Les Sims (Based on France), and Al Simhara (Based on Egypt).
The game includes new traits, items, and clothing, new Martial Arts and Photography skills, a new Mummy life state, as well as the ability to explore Egyptian tombs for relics and collectables, and the ability to create and drink nectar, which is similar to wine.
The Sims 3: Ambitions
The Sims 3: Ambitions was the second expansion for The Sims 3 and it vastly expands your sims’ professional life by providing them with five new professions and one adjusted profession. They include being a ghost hunter, a stylist, a private investigator, an architect, and a stylist.
Alongside the new professions, through which you actually control your sims, there are new clothing items and objects, new town Twinbrook, as well as new skills sculpting and inventing, both of which can be used to create items that can be sold.
The Sims 3: Late Night
The Sims 3: Late Night is The Sims 3’s version of Hot Date and Nightlife. Late Night acts as a mixture of the two, adding new social options with sims finally being able to go to clubs and bars, pursue the new acting and directing career paths, and enjoy living in apartments and high-rise buildings.
If all of that isn’t enough, Late Night also brings back the classic Vampire life state, introduces an exciting celebrity system and new town Bridgeport, and like all other expansions expands your Create-A-Sim and Build and Buy catalogues.
The Sims 3: Generations
The Sims 3: Generations is widely regarded as one of the best expansion packs for The Sims 3. The pack adds a ton of depth to the game for all life states; children and teens can pull pranks, teens can attend prom, adults can have a midlife crisis, children can conjure imaginary friends (This pack’s new life state), and plenty more.
Generations also introduces a new memory system, several new lifetime rewards, body hair, and it introduces plenty of more subtle game mechanics too, along with plenty of new objects, clothing, hairstyles, and more.
The Sims 3: Pets
As hinted at by the title, The Sims 3: Pets introduces pets. Unlike The Sims 2: Pets, this pack allows sims to adopt cats, dogs, and horses too, all of which can breed and can be controlled. Horses in Pets can be trained for racing and used to enter races for some big rewards if your sim is lucky enough.
The pack also introduces new town Appaloosa Plains and new life state unicorns which can be tamed by sims and used in races. Like all other expansions, you can expect a range of new clothing, objects, and hairstyles too.
The Sims 3: Showtime
The Sims 3: Showtime builds heavily on the Late Night expansion, introducing new stage careers such as the acrobat, magician and singer. It also introduces the new showbiz-themed town Starlight Shores, several new lifetime wishes and rewards, several new job interactions, dozens of new skills, as well as numerous new objects, hairstyles, traits, and more.
On top of that, the game introduces brand new social features for the first time ever. These features allow you to chat with friends, create friends lists, connect with other players, and visit each other’s towns via SimPort.
The Sims 3: Supernatural
The Sims 3: Supernatural focuses on all things supernatural in The Sims. The new pack introduces several new and returning life states, such as Fairies, Werewolves, Witches, and Zombies. It also upgrades the Vampires from Late Night, introduces new skill Alchemy, and brings back the iconic Bonehilda skeletal maid from The Sims: Makin’ Magic.
Supernatural also introduces new town Moonlight Falls, new traits, magic, new WooHoo spots, new lifetime rewards and wishes, as well as various supernatural-themed Create-A-Sim options and Build and Buy objects too.
The Sims 3: Seasons
The Sims 3: Seasons introduces seasons, following on from the hugely successful The Sims 2: Seasons. Like its predecessor, Seasons brings back weather and rotating Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter seasons, with lots of new gameplay. Sims can enjoy various weather, take up new sports like snowboarding and soccer, and attend seasonal festivals too.
The pack also brings back new outfit styles, allows your sims to celebrate holidays, experience illnesses, and it introduces numerous new objects and Create-A-Sim options too. Finally, the game brings back the Alien life state from The Sims 2, has new careers, new party types, new skills, and more. Like Generations, it’s a pretty in-depth pack.
The Sims 3: University Life
The Sims 3: University Life brings higher education to your sims via the new Sims University town. The pack allows your teenage and older sims to attend college and through it, obtain a degree. Sims will have to attend classes, lectures, take exams, and more.
The game introduces new social groups, new traits, new lot types, new party types, brings back apartments, introduces new careers and NPCs, and brings back the PlantSim life state from The Sims 2. That’s not to mention all of the new objects, Create-A-Sim options, lifetime wishes and rewards, and more.
The Sims 3: Island Paradise
The Sims 3: Island Paradise is an extension to World Adventures, giving your sims a chance to visit, relax, and have fun at new island town Isla Paradiso. This pack introduces a range of island-based activities for your sims to participate in, including speedboating and scuba diving. What’s more, the pack allows your sims to live on houseboats and it introduces the new resort management professions.
If the above isn’t enough, you can also try playing the Mermaid life state, dabble in the new Lifeguard career, experience several new deaths, and enjoy the various new Create-A-Sim options and Build and Buy objects.
The Sims 3: Into The Future
The Sims 3: Into The Future was the eleventh and final expansion pack released for The Sims 3. The pack allows your sims to travel to the future neighbourhood of Oasis Landing which can appear as a normal, utopian or dystopian future. There are several new traits, new rabbit holes and lots, new skills, and plenty of future-themed objects and Create-A-Sim options too.
If that isn’t enough, you can enjoy various new collectables, three new careers, new deaths, and try out the new robotic Plumbot life state. The pack comes with plenty of features but remains controversial for its futuristic theme.
Sims 3 Stuff Packs List
Alongside the eleven major expansion packs, The Sims 3 had nine stuff packs which, although they didn’t introduce new gameplay, provides you with a great catalogue of Build and Buy objects, Create-A-Sim customisation options, new lots, and new neighbourhood decor. Take a look below to discover more about each of the different stuff packs and what might be best for you.
The Sims 3: High-End Loft Stuff
The Sms 3: High-End Loft Stuff is all about modern living and the stuff pack offers a wide range of sleek, modern-day-themed objects to decorate your home with. You can enjoy new hairstyles, clothing, and Build and Buy objects.
The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff
The Sims 3: Fast Lane Stuff is themed on cars. The majority of the pack is car-themed decor objects for your sims, but the pack does provide you with 12 brand new vehicles that can be used by your sims.
The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff
The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff is a stuck pack dedicated to sprucing up your sims’ front and back gardens. The pack comes with various Build and Buy objects, including new hot tubs for all your WooHooing needs.
The Sims 3: Town Life Stuff
The Sims 3: Town Life Stuff focuses on your sims neighbourhoods and introduces seven brand new community lots, along with some new clothing and plenty of Build and Buy objects.
The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff
The Sims 3: Master Suite Stuff was designed to improve your sims’ bathrooms. The pack has a special focus on romance, and provides you with plenty of unique new clothing and Build and Buy objects.
The Sims 3: Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats
One of the most controversial Sims packs around, The Sims 3: Katy Perry’s Sweet Treats is based on pop star Katy Perry, offering various sweet-themed objects, Create-A-Sim options, and community lots. The game also comes with a Simlish version of Perry’s hit song ‘Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)’.
The Sims 3: Diesel Stuff
Much like The Sims 2: Ikea Stuff, The Sims 3: Diesel Stuff is a branded pack that provides you and your sims with Build and Buy objects and Create-A-Sim options themed on the popular Diesel brand.
The Sims 3: 70s, 80s, & 90s Stuff
The Sims 3: 70s, 80s, & 90s Stuff is a stuff pack inspired by the 70s, 80s, and 90s. All of the clothing, hairstyles, make-up, and Build and Buy objects in the pack are based around the three decades and make for a very unique pack.
The Sims 3: Movie Stuff
The final The Sims 3 stuff pack was The Sims 3: Movie Stuff which features clothing and Build and Buy objects based around movie themes and settings.
Sims 3: Best Expansion And Stuff Packs
There are so many expansion packs and stuff packs in The Sims 3 that it can be a little difficult trying to figure out which expansion pack is for you. Generally speaking, the best expansion pack or stuff pack will depend entirely on your play style or what you’re looking to get out of The Sims. To help you, we’ve put together a short guide detailing which expansions cater to various playstyles, so keep on reading to find out more.
If you believe that you don’t fit into one particular playstyle or simple enjoy all aspects of The Sims, it’s worth taking a look at the various expansion packs and seeing which features from each pack that you like and purchase them that way.
Family And Traditional Life Sim Gameplay
A majority of people who like playing The Sims do so for the life simulation aspect of the game. For these players, we believe that expansion packs such as Generations, Late Night, Seasons, University Life, Pets, and Ambitions are all worth purchasing. All of these packs greatly enhance the base game and The Sims 3’s life simulation gameplay.
For example, Seasons brings seasonal weather and holidays, Pets brings pets and all the chaos that comes with them, Ambitions greatly enhances your sims’ jobs and professions, Late Night makes dating and socialising much more fun, University Life allows your sims to achieve degrees, and Generations deepens gameplay by adding more mechanics to your sims’ life states, as well as small interactions and features that flesh out the game.
Out Of The Ordinary Gameplay
If you’re someone who enjoys the weird and wacky of The Sims, you’re better suited for the series’ weird packs, including Supernatural, Island Paradise, and Into The Future. These packs all introduce strange gameplay mechanics, like numerous Supernatural life states, the ability to live on houseboats and turn into Mermaids, and the ability to travel into three unique futures.
The Sims franchise has always been known for its wackiness, and we believe that the three expansion packs mentioned above truly bring out the weird, perfect for anyone looking for out of the ordinary gameplay.
Building And Designing
A lot of people who play The Sims do so to build their dream homes. Now, all of the expansion packs bring new themes, collections, and Build and Buy items too. This can make all of the expansion packs worth purchasing, but since that can be incredibly expensive, we suggest you undertake some heavy research into the packs and work out what themes you enjoy the best, and purchase the packs that way.
The same applies to stuff packs, but since these packs are orientated around specific themes, they’re much easier to work out. Simply, take a look at each of the pack’s themes and work out what you’re interested in.
Where Can I Buy Sims 3 Expansions For Cheap?
At the time of writing, The Sims 3 expansion packs and stuff packs can be bought as physical discs or they can be bought digitally. One of the best ways to buy Sims 3 expansions for cheap is to check second-hand shops or websites like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Gumtree.
If you’re not bothered about having physical copies of your Sims 3 expansions and stuff packs, you can always consider going digital. A benefit of buying Sims 3 expansions digitally is that they can sometimes be much cheaper than buying physical copies. Right now, you can buy Sims 3 expansions for cheap on three main platforms:
- Origin (EA)
- Steam
- CD Keys
We’ve found that Origin tends to be the pricier of the three platforms and rarely holds sales on The Sims 3 packs. Steam, however, runs sales on the packs regularly, making them a much cheaper alternative. CD Keys, however, is the best site to buy Sims 3 expansions for cheap, offering them at a much lower rate than the other platforms.
When bought on CD Keys, you receive a product code to redeem in Origin. All you need to do is enter the key through the Origin app and you will have instant access to the game.
Note: Many people have expressed concern over purchasing Sims 3 packs at CD Keys, but we’ve found it to be completely safe and legit and have not had any problems doing so.
Playing Sims 3: Steam Or Origin?
When it comes to playing The Sims 3, there are two main platforms you can play the game on; Steam or Origin. Now, many believe this can cause a problem as you may purchase the base game and several packs through CD Keys or Origin, and then purchase other packs through Steam, leaving you unable to play.
Thankfully, you can actually transfer games from Steam to Origin, allowing you to grab games whenever they’re on sale and port them over to your alternative platform where you can enjoy everything together. Sadly, there is no way of porting your games from Origin to Steam.
To port your games from Steam to Origin, all you have to do is log in to your Steam account, navigate to your library, right-click it, and then click ‘View Game CD Key’. However, it’s important to note that this feature isn’t available for all games, but is available for Sims 3 expansions and stuff packs. From there, you simply have to make a note of or copy the CD key, launch Origin, and then redeem the game through there. That’s it, the game should be added to your library and will be ready to download and install.
Which Sims 3 Expansion Pack Should I Get?
When it comes to The Sims, everyone has different interests and playstyles, so it’s important to know what type of gameplay you enjoy and find an expansion or stuff pack that fits your needs. You can check our guide on which Sims 3 expansion pack you should get to find out what might suit your needs.
Where can I buy Sims 3 packs for cheap?
We’ve already explained where you can grab Sims 3 packs for cheap. There are several ways you can purchase packs for cheap, including grabbing second-hand physical copies or digital codes when on sales. Check our full guide for more details.
Can I buy Sims 3 packs on Steam?
Yep! You can buy Sims 3 packs on Steam and transfer them to your Origin account, which is great if you ever find the Steam version of Sims on sale for cheap!
