The Sims 4 has been a big hit for eight years now, with plenty of regular updates full of new stuff and lots of custom content mods from the community. That community is poised to grow even bigger because the game is going free to play next month.
As announced by EA, The Sims 4 base game will be a free download on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam, Origin, and the EA launcher starting Tuesday, October 18. If you’re an EA Play or EA Play Pro member, you’ll get special editions of the game: the EA Play Edition includes the Get To Work Expansion Pack, while the EA Play Pro Edition includes that expansion plus the Toddler Stuff Pack. For everyone else, you’ll get the vanilla game and will need to crack open your wallet if you want additional content. Some of the most recent additions include the Werewolves Game Pack and the High School Years Expansion Pack.
If you already own the game, don’t worry — EA hasn’t forgotten about your previous purchase. Between now and October 17, all current Sims 4 players can download the Desert Luxe Kit for free, adding Southwestern desert-inspired indoor and outdoor decor. That’s meant as a thank you from the developer, and it’ll be available to claim from the game’s main menu.
On the same day that The Sims 4 goes free to play, EA will be holding a Behind The Sims Summit to talk about the future of the series. That will air on The Sims’ YouTube and Twitch channels at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT, and you can expect teasers for new content coming down the road. EA has promised that it “will continue to develop and release packs, kits, and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future.”
It’ll be interesting to see what this free-to-play move does for the popularity of The Sims 4. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout went the same route earlier this year, resulting in a whopping 50 million players giving the game a go.
