The Sims turns 25, Maxis teases free stuff in anniversary update

The Sims franchise is a quarter-century old as of Feb. 4th, and it’s been a wild 25 years of WooHooing, drowning Sims in pools, painting goblins in the basement, vampire dynasties, grinding the career ladder, and other soap opera antics. Maxis and Electronic Arts hosted a short stream Tuesday showing some of the upcoming content, including new stuff packs, creator collaborations, and quality of life updates.

On Feb. 4, developer Maxis will be adding a ton of free cosmetics in the game, both in Create-A-Sim and the Build and Buy modes. This includes new hairstyles, clothing items, shoes, wallpapers, windows, wood finishes on kitchen cabinets, and a massive pirate ship playground for Sim kids.

Later in March, Maxis will also be overhauling the lighting in The Sims 4, allowing for more dynamic lighting and realistic reflections. This makes setting up a bay window in the breakfast nook much more attractive, and architects will no doubt enjoy setting up their Sim’s home for peak aesthetics.

Maxis also shared some smaller changes coming to The Sims 4, like an overhaul of many common Sims properties using new pieces added to the game over its lifespan. Players will also notice a new menu when they log in starting on Tuesday, with their current Sim family save front and center.

In September, Electronic Arts and Maxis announced that there may not be a The Sims 5, and they will continue supporting The Sims 4. “Project Rene,” a secretive project focusing on multiplayer, is still going through early playtesting. We’ll have to wait for more details on what Project Rene will look like, and how it’ll mix with The Sims 4. Maxis is clearly learning from these playtests and continually updating the game with features, like the Occult Switcher.