The Sims has been a staple franchise within the video game community for years, offering a wide range of creative options for players to tell their own unique stories. Now it seems that Electronic Arts (EA) is finally opening their tight-knit community to the wider world. Earlier today, EA announced that the base game for The Sims 4 will be free to play starting October 18, 2022. First-time players can download the base game for free that day on PC, Mac, Steam, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One systems.
The Sims 4 going free to play is a huge change for the franchise and a relief for many fans. Since its initial release in 2014, The Sims 4 has seen many DLC and updates that improved the quality of the game. Unfortunately, this led to players spending enormous amounts of money to enjoy the game. Despite the monetary relief, some see the change as turning the base game into a glorified demo. Others see the change as opening new players to experience the Sims without the need to fork in large amounts of money. Regardless, the developers seem to take the switch in stride. According to EA, they’ve taken the change to be “…more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful The Sims 4 experiences for our players…”
In celebration, EA Play and EA Play Pro editions of the game will receive upgrades on October 18. Those who have already bought The Sims 4 will receive the Desert Luxe Kit starting September 14 till October 17 as a gift. The Desert Luxe Kit can be redeemed by logging into the game and claiming it at the main menu. For more information regarding the switch to free-to-play, players can look forward to a stream on October 18. The Sims Summit stream will go live on The Sims YouTube and Twitch channels at 10 am PDT.