‘The Sims 4’ will transition to a free-to-play model next month

Photo credit: EA via The Sims / YouTube screenshot

Thursday, September 15, 2022 10:06 AM UTC

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EA is aiming to expand the already massive fanbase of “The Sims 4” by making it free-to-play. The publisher is also giving away free desert-inspired content to thank players who paid for the base game.

“The Sims 4” will join the list of free-to-play titles published by EA eight years after the popular simulation game launched. This means new players no longer have to buy the base game, which currently costs $19.99, starting Tuesday, Oct. 18.

“With ‘The Sims 4’ going free to play, our team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful The Sims 4 experiences for our players and we will continue to develop and release packs, kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future,” the publisher said in a blog post. EA and Maxis will reveal more about this transition in a live stream of the Behind ‘The Sims’ Summit on Oct. 18 at 10 a.m. PT.

Players still have to purchase Expansion and Game Packs separately, commonly priced at $39.99 and $19.99, respectively. The new business model for “The Sims 4” will be applied to all its versions available on PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox. But it remains to be seen if its free-to-play model will also mean more paid content updates are in the pipeline.

This might not be the best news for those who just paid for the full price of the “The Sims 4” base game. To make up for that and to thank long-time players, EA said they can now redeem the free Desert Luxe Kit from the game’s main menu until Oct. 17. EA Play and EA Play Pro subscribers, while not affected by “The Sims 4” going free-to-play, are getting an upgrade with member-only bundles also arriving on Oct. 18.

A free-to-play model will likely invite new players to try the game, which then gives EA more opportunities to increase sales for its paid content. EA said during its earnings call for the fiscal year 2019’s third quarter that “The Sims 4” revenue has surpassed $1 billion. In May 2021, the company reported the game had gained 36 million players.