The Sims 4 Needs
Dear EA/Maxis & Fellow Simmers,
I’ve been playing The Sims 4 for years, and while the game has grown in incredible ways — from new life stages to deeper emotions and lore — one of the features that still feels painfully underdeveloped is the Family Tree system.
Right now, the genealogy tool is functional but shallow. It only shows parents, siblings, children, and grandparents. That’s it. If your Sim has an uncle, cousin, or great-grandparent? They’re invisible. If a Sim dies or gets culled, their branch of the tree often disappears entirely. As someone who loves long legacy saves and generational storytelling, this lack of depth makes it hard to stay immersed or track family dynamics.
Here’s what the family tree needs to feel whole:
- Full branching visibility: Show a Sim’s entire family, including cousins, aunts, uncles, great-grandparents, step-relatives, and in-laws.
- Clickable portraits: Let us click any family member to view their traits, life stage, and how they’re connected.
- Color-coded connections: Use visual cues to differentiate blood relatives, adopted Sims, in-laws, and stepfamily.
- Expandable/collapsible branches: Allow us to cleanly view large family trees and focus on specific branches.
- Sentiments or history popups: Hovering over a Sim could show their relationship score, important events, or even a sentiment like “Estranged Sibling” or “Close Bond.”
- Timeline option: Include a legacy timeline showing births, deaths, marriages, adoptions, and milestones.
Having this kind of detail would benefit not only storytelling players, but also casual players who want to know who is related to who at a glance. It would eliminate confusion, help avoid accidental in-game romances with cousins, and give real meaning to growing your legacy across multiple generations.
It also adds an emotional depth that matches the rest of The Sims 4’s tone — a game that, more than ever, is about emotions, stories, and connection.
I truly believe a more immersive family tree system would be one of the most impactful, legacy-friendly updates we could get.
Sincerely,
A devoted Simmer & generational player
