Introducing The Sims Maker Program and The Sims 4 Marketplace
From the beginning, The Sims has been shaped by our community. This includes custom content creators, whose work helps players make every Sim, and every build, feel more personal. We’re celebrating that creativity with the launch of The Sims Maker Program, alongside The Sims 4 Marketplace, a new in-game platform designed to support custom content creators, help more players discover their work alongside all The Sims 4 content. Here’s how it all comes together: The Sims Maker Program is a new initiative that allows creators who specialize in custom content to publish officially to The Sims 4 in-game Marketplace. This introduces new ways for them to earn while bringing fresh content to all players around the globe, across every platform. The Sims 4 Marketplace is a brand-new in-game destination where players can discover, purchase, and play with official Maker Packs, as well as Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs and Kits created by The Sims team. Moola is The Sims 4 virtual currency that can be used to make purchases of both Maker Packs and The Sims 4 Kits in the Marketplace. Purchases of Maker Packs support the Makers. The Sims 4 Marketplace launches in-game on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026. The feature will roll out to PlayStation and Xbox players in the next couple of months. This is an intentional evolution of a multi-year strategy to support custom content creators, expanding from co-developed Kits to Creator Kits and now The Sims 4 Marketplace and the Maker Program. This has all been thoughtfully built over the past few years to expand the reach and celebrate these incredible creatives. Let’s Talk About the Makers and The Maker Program At the heart of the new in-game Marketplace are the Makers. Makers are community specialists who design custom content to help you express yourself in new ways. They bring new perspectives and ideas inspired by how they love to play. Through the The Sims Maker Program, accepted Makers can earn by publishing new creations directly to the Marketplace, reaching Simmers around the world through an officially supported platform. Makers have creative ownership of their work and decide how their content is packaged and priced, within the Marketplace guidelines. Their creations are offered as Maker Packs, which are Create a Sim and/or Build/Buy items created by a Maker. Makers are supported with our new Maker Suite, which provides official tools, resources, and clear guidelines to make sure their content is compatible and plays smoothly in The Sims 4, all while staying true to their individual style and creative vision. All Maker content is reviewed to meet The Sims’ safety and community standards, guided by our Positive Play Charter. While Maker content may look different from content made by The Sims team, that difference reflects the creative freedom Makers have to express their unique style. If you’re interested in becoming a Maker, you can apply through the Maker Program starting March 5, 2026 and submit content for review. More details on the Maker Program, including information on revenue share, can be found in the below FAQ. What Is The Sims 4 Marketplace? The Marketplace brings Maker-made content into a trusted, officially supported platform, available directly in-game in The Sims 4. Inside the Marketplace, you’ll find Maker Packs, including Create a Sim items, Build/Buy pieces, and themed collections. The Sims 4 Packs and Kits will also be available on the Marketplace. When you purchase Maker Packs, you are supporting the Makers behind it. Recognizing the time, care, and creativity they bring to The Sims, your purchases provide an official, structured way for Makers to earn revenue from their work. The Marketplace is fully integrated into The Sims 4, making it easier than ever to play with new content. Curated collections and improved discovery tools help you find creations that match your playstyle. With seamless loading, you can add Maker-made content and The Sims 4 Kits into your game without worrying about compatibility or restarting. The Marketplace does not replace free content. Makers may continue to offer free or paid early access custom content and mods on other platforms under our mod policy. However, content made available elsewhere is not eligible for sale through the Marketplace. The Gallery and Base Game updates will also continue to offer free creations, features, and improvements for all players, just as they do today. Moola Supports Makers The introduction of Moola, a virtual currency, allows The Sims 4 to support Maker content that is available to all players across every platform. It provides a safe, simple, and secure way to purchase Maker Packs while enabling Makers to release new content on a regular cadence. You’ll be able to purchase Moola through your preferred platform store. Once in your wallet, you can use it in the Marketplace to purchase and download Maker Packs, as well as Kits created by The Sims team. Players can still purchase official Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs through their platform’s Marketplace with standard currency, just not with Moola. More Choice for Players, From Your Favorite Makers Creative freedom, accessibility, and trust have always been central to The Sims. By giving Makers an official place to share their work, and giving you an easy way to discover and support it, the Marketplace stays true to the values that have shaped The Sims for decades. For the first time, players on console will be able to access official custom content directly in-game. At its core, the Marketplace is all about giving you more choices, and supporting the Makers whose creativity continues to shape how we all play The Sims. As The Sims continues to evolve, our focus remains the same: celebrating self-expression and building the future together as a community. We can’t wait to see what you and our amazing Maker community create next. The Sims 4 Marketplace launches in-game on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026. The feature will roll out to PlayStation and Xbox players in the next couple of months. Marketplace is brand-new to The Sims 4, and we’re rolling it out in phases to ensure stability and deliver a smooth, high-quality experience for everyone. When the Marketplace goes live on PC and Mac, Kits will move out of existing storefronts and become exclusively available in the in-game Marketplace for Moola. Any Kits you already own will remain in your library and ready to play. For console players, this change will happen when the Marketplace launches on your platform. If you have questions or want to learn more, check out our FAQ below and join the conversation on our official The Sims Discord and The Sims Forums. Marketplace FAQ What is The Sims 4 Marketplace? The Marketplace is the official in-game storefront for The Sims 4, where players can discover and purchase downloadable content, including Maker Packs created by approved Sims Makers, as well as Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, and Kits created by The Sims team. What's happening to Kits? When the Marketplace launches on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026, Kits will become exclusively available in the in-game Marketplace. Any Kits you already own will remain in your library and ready to play. For console players, this change will happen when the Marketplace arrives on your platform, and we’ll share updates ahead of time. Moving Kits into the Marketplace ensures that we can continue releasing new content without hitting technical or storage limitations. What do players need to access the Marketplace? All players must be online while playing The Sims 4 to access the Marketplace. You can still play The Sims 4 offline, but the Marketplace will be unavailable except for viewing your Collection. When does The Sims 4 Marketplace launch and what platforms are the Marketplace available on? The Sims 4 Marketplace launches in-game on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026. Marketplace will roll out to PlayStation and Xbox players in the next couple of months. Why is Xbox and PlayStation coming later than PC and Mac? Marketplace is a brand-new feature for The Sims 4. We’re taking a phased approach to ensure stability and deliver a smooth, high-quality experience for players on every platform. We appreciate your patience and look forward to bringing Marketplace to console very soon. What regions is the Marketplace available in? The Marketplace is available in regions where The Sims 4 is currently supported, subject to local regulations and platform requirements. Is the Marketplace replacing free updates or the Gallery? Free Base Game updates and The Sims 4 Gallery will continue as usual. Is Marketplace content safe to use? Yes. All Marketplace content is human-reviewed to help ensure it’s safe, compatible, and appropriate for the game’s rating. What is a Maker Pack? A Maker Pack is a curated collection of Create a Sim and/or Build/Buy items created by a Maker. Maker Packs can contain anywhere from 3 to 50 assets and will be purchased with Moola. Both cost and amount of assets are determined by the Maker. Who can create and sell items on the Marketplace? Only Makers accepted into The Sims Maker Program can create, share, and earn revenue on the Marketplace. Does buying Marketplace content support Makers? When you purchase Maker Packs, you’re supporting the Makers who created that content. Can Marketplace content be gifted or shared? No. Marketplace content purchased with Moola cannot be gifted or transferred to other players. If I purchase any Expansion Packs, Stuff Packs, or Game Packs on the Marketplace, do I need to restart my game? Yes. Any purchases of Expansion Packs, Stuff Packs, or Game Packs will require a game restart. Maker Packs and Kits purchased with Moola do not require a restart. Are microtransactions, subscriptions and/or battle passes coming to The Sims 4? There are no plans to require additional purchases to enjoy the game or introduce a subscription service or battle pass to The Sims 4. The Sims 4 will continue to be a game with a mix of free base game updates and optional DLC, so you can choose what’s right for your playstyle. Maker FAQ Who are Makers? Makers are skilled custom content creators who have been accepted into the official Sims Maker Program. Their content is reviewed, moderated, and supported by The Sims team. What is The Sims Maker Program? The Sims Maker Program is an official program for custom content creators who specialize in creating Create a Sim and Build/Buy items for The Sims 4 using official tools supported by The Sims team. Who can become a Maker? Aspiring Makers can apply if they meet the following requirements: Be 18 years of age or older. Not reside in an EA-embargoed region. Be proficient in English (communication will be in English). Be in good standing with EA’s User Agreement. Successfully complete a Technical Evaluation by submitting two assets for review. Applications open March 5, 2026. More details on The Sims Maker Program can be found here. What is the difference between custom content creators and Makers? Custom content creators are anyone who creates custom content for The Sims. Custom content creators may distribute their content outside the game in accordance with our mod policy. Makers are custom content creators who participate in the official Maker Program and are authorized to publish approved content on the in-game Marketplace. How do Makers create content for the Marketplace? Makers use official tools supported by The Sims team to create Marketplace-ready content that meets technical, quality and content standards. Using The Sims Maker Suite, Makers create collections (Maker Packs) and submit them for review. Makers decide the size and value of each pack, however, there are limitations. Are there content restrictions? Yes. Approved Makers must follow the Maker Content Policy, which outlines content, legal and technical requirements. All content must be created using supported stencils to ensure compatibility. What content guidelines will Makers need to follow, and could these restrict creative freedom? The Sims team supports the creative freedom of all Makers. Makers will receive and comply with a Content Policy outlining common-sense guidelines and legal requirements. As long as their creations comply with that policy, meet our technical requirements, align with The Sims’ age ratings (ESRB, PEGI, etc.), and do not infringe on third-party intellectual property, they are free to create using the supported tools within the Maker Suite. How is content reviewed? All Marketplace content is human-reviewed before release to help ensure it’s safe, playable, and appropriate for the game’s rating, guided by The Sims’ Positive Play Charter. Can Makers publish on multiple platforms? Yes. Publishing through the Marketplace allows Makers to reach players across PC, Mac and consoles through a fully integrated in-game storefront. How do Makers earn money? When players purchase Maker Packs in the Marketplace, Makers earn from those purchases through the official Sims Maker Program. Makers choose their own pack sizes and prices (within the Marketplace guidelines), and are empowered to determine the value of their content. What is the revenue share? Makers take home approximately 30% of the Moola from their Pack sales. That means for every 100 Moola someone spends on their content, they earn 30 cents USD. The Sims is covering all costs and fees associated with publishing, including overhead costs such as platform fees, VAT taxes, server costs, and other transactional expenses, which may vary by platform. In addition to covering the publishing fees, The Sims’ reinvests in the Maker community, supporting Makers, improving tools and resources available to them, funding human-led quality verification, as well as ensuring every Maker Pack is translated into all 18 supported languages. Can Makers continue to post custom content on other platforms? Makers may continue to offer free or paid early access custom content and mods on other platforms. However, content made available elsewhere is not eligible for sale through the Marketplace. All rules and regulations around custom content and mods published outside of The Sims Maker Program can be found here. Is support available for Makers? Yes. Makers have access to documentation, clear content guidelines, and dedicated support to help them navigate the publishing process. Moola FAQ What is Moola? Moola is a virtual currency designed specifically for The Sims 4 and is used exclusively for Marketplace purchases. You can use it in the Marketplace to purchase and download Maker Packs and Kits from The Sims team. Players can still purchase Expansion Packs, Game Packs and Stuff Packs through their platform’s Marketplace with standard currency, just not Moola. How much does Moola cost? Moola is available in multiple purchase options, with prices varying by region and platform. $2.49 USD for 200 Moola $4.99 USD for 500 Moola $9.99 USD for 1,000 Moola $24.99 USD for 2,600 Moola $49.99 USD for 5,500 Moola Why is The Sims introducing a virtual currency? Moola provides a simple, consistent, and secure way for players to purchase Marketplace content in-game across platforms and regions. At the same time, it supports a creator-driven Marketplace by helping ensure reliable payouts to Makers and sustainable support for their work. Can Moola be earned through gameplay? No. Moola is purchased and used exclusively for Marketplace. Why not allow direct real currency purchases instead of Moola? Moola helps make buying Maker content quick and seamless directly in-game, without extra steps or redirects. It also allows us to support a much larger and more frequently updated catalog of Maker Packs than traditional store listings. Using virtual currency works more smoothly across platforms and regions, keeps pricing consistent for players worldwide, and helps ensure Makers are paid fairly and reliably. It also enables us to deliver new Maker content at the scale and pace Makers want. Does Moola work across platforms? Moola can be used across the same platform family. For example, Moola purchased on the EA app will also be available when playing on Steam or Epic Games. However, Moola does not transfer between different platform families, such as PlayStation and Xbox. Is Moola refundable? No, Moola is not refundable. Can Moola be transferred, traded, or gifted? No, Moola cannot be transferred, traded or gifted. Can Marketplace content be gifted to other players? No. Maker Packs and Kits purchased with Moola cannot be gifted to other players.
Temporary Console Gallery Changes: March 17 Base Game Update
Simmers, We want to share an important update for PlayStation and Xbox Simmers regarding The Gallery following the upcoming PC and Mac Base Game update on March 17. Consoles will receive this Base Game update at a later date, and therefore will temporarily experience a different version of The Gallery. During this time, players will see a "Version Mismatch" error when attempting to download some content. We want to make sure this update delivers the best experience possible for console Simmers. By launching on PC and Mac first, we’ll be able to validate performance, stability, and overall quality before bringing the update to Xbox and PlayStation. Taking this extra time helps ensure everything works exactly as intended on consoles. To help make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone, our team will roll out Marketplace updates for Xbox and PlayStation Simmers as soon as we’re able, with a focus on supporting a great experience for all players. We’ll share more details on console timing as soon as they’re confirmed. In the meantime, you can still download content that was made and uploaded by PC and Mac players prior to the March 17th update. You can also avoid mismatch errors while browsing The Gallery on console by using the platform-specific filters to view only console compatible content. The Most Popular and Maxis Curated filters should work as well, but there may be some exceptions. There will be no impact to previously downloaded content you have in My Library. Thanks for your patience and understanding, - The Sims TeamLaundry List: Upcoming Bug Fixes - March 10, 2026
Hi Simmers! Welcome to the Laundry List, where we share the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to resolve. If you’re hitting crashes, infinite loading, or missing lots, please read our post here to see how you can share affected saves so we can gather some critical information to aid our investigations. Please note; this Base Game update will launch on PC and Mac on March 17th, with PlayStation and Xbox coming later. During this time, console players may experience a temporary version mismatch when using the Gallery. For more details you can read the full blog on EA Forums here, follow Sims Direct on X and join our Discord community. We’ll share updates as soon as they’re available. The Sims Team Here’s the list of the top community concerns you can expect to see resolved in our next update: Top 5 Most Voted Fixes: [EA Forums][EA Forums] Extensive updates to ensure that Sims' eye blinking will now show fully closed eyes for most interactions, see the blog post for more information on these changes. [EA Forums] Prom will once again appear on Calendars and Sims will be able to attend, this fix will ensure it is working for both new and old saves. Alongside this fix, we fixed another issue where Prom goals weren't able to be completed. (High School Years) [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Pet and Horse data was being lost in Premade Households. This will no longer occur in fresh saves. However, if this occurred in an old Save, it will still be occurring in that instance. (Cats & Dogs, Horse Ranch) [EA Forums] We've implemented a notable change to how Sims determine who they speak with on a lot. Now, Sims will generally prefer speaking with familiar Sims they already have a good rapport with, and Sims are less likely to engage with strangers spontaneously. [EA Forums] Animals can be assigned to an Animal Shed after moving the Household to a new lot. They no longer become stuck in Household or Sim Inventory. This is also fixed for saves where the animals were already stuck. (Cottage Living) Sims Autonomy Improvements “Sim autonomy” is one of our key focus areas based on community feedback, and this update delivers on 3 of our top autonomy issues : Sims socializing with strangers, excessive flirting, and Sims using certain objects obsessively. Base Game [EA Forums] We've addressed the issue where Sims were excessively flirting with each other. [EA Forums] We've heard your feedback and wanted to address Sims using Computers and Phones too often. We've added a few new preferences to the Base Game including: Likes Phones, Likes Computers, Dislikes Phones, and Dislikes Computers. If you don't want your Sims to autonomously use these objects, please give them the "Dislikes Phones" or "Dislikes Computers" Preferences. If you want them to be obsessed... you know what to do. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously uses the Computer, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for half of a Sim day. This cooldown does not exist for non-active Household Sims, for Sims who are Geeks, Sims who Like Computers, or when it is a preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs, Small Businesses, or Dynasties. Sims who Dislike Computers (a new Preference we added) will never use them autonomously anymore. [EA Forums] The "Troll teh Forums" Computer Interaction has been added to the same cooldown that is used for other Computer interactions. Sims will also now need Mischief Skill of 6 or higher to consider this action autonomously unless they have the following Sims Traits: Evil, Childish, Geek, Hot-Headed, Erratic, or Mean (who always have it available). (Base Game) [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously destroys a Doll House, it will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for some time. We also made a change so that only Sims with certain Traits (Evil, Hates Children, Mean Hot-Headed) will ever autonomously decide to destroy a Doll House while Angry. Before this update, this autonomous behaviour could occur for any Sim who was feeling Angry or Dazed. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously mixes a drink, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a Sim day for non-NPCs. Previously this would occur frequently for Sims who were Inspired, or Sims with the Bro or Foodie Trait. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously Swims, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for some time. This cooldown does not exist for non-active Household Sims, on Pool Venues, during Pool Party or Birthday Party events, when Swimming is a preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs, or Small Businesses, or if the Sim is a Mermaid or Plant Sim. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays the Violin, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a Sim day. This cooldown does not exist for non-active Household Sims, for Sims who are Music Lovers, Sims who Like Violins, or when it is a preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs, Small Businesses, or Dynasties. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays the Guitar, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a Sim day. This cooldown does not exist for non-active Household Sims, for Sims who are Music Lovers, Sims who Like Guitars, or when it is a preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs, Small Businesses, or Dynasties. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays Chess, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a Sim day. This is for non NPCs only, and not applicable during clubs or getaways revolving around chess. [EA Forums] We've added a cooldown for Sims dancing while on a lot that the Sim owns. Sims who Like Dancing, Dance Machine Trait Sims, and certain situations will not receive this cooldown. This cooldown is not for Non-Active Household Sims. This cooldown will disappear when Sims move lots in case they are going to a lot where they want to dance. [EA Forums]We're reducing how often a Sim considers turning on the radio. Sims with the Music Lover trait will consider listening to music more often than other Sims. [EA Forums] Though practically a staple of Sim culture (I'm being cheeky), we've added a cooldown for autonomous Push-Ups, Sit-Ups, and Stretches. Now, only Sims who are Energized at the Gym Venue or Sims with the Active trait will consider doing this autonomously. [EA Forums] We've added a cooldown for Foodie Sims watching Culinary Training Videos on the television where they won't do this autonomously for two days after doing it. [EA Forums] If a Child Sim autonomously uses the Space Ship playground, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a Sim day. This cooldown does not exist for non-active Household Sims or when it is a preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs, or Small Businesses. Leaving the current lot also removes the cooldown. [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays with the Lump of Clay, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a while. This cooldown does not occur for Creative Sims or Sims who Like Pottery. Discover University [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays with the Soccer Ball they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a while. This cooldown does not occur for Sims who Like Fitness or non-Household Sims. Cottage Living [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously does Cross-Stitch, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for some time. This cooldown does not exist for Sims who Like Cross-Stitching or when it is a preferred interaction for a Club. Lovestruck [EA Forums] Sims will no longer consider playing Thumbs Up or the WooHoo Card Game while in the middle of writing a book on the computer. Adventure Awaits [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously plays with the Paper Airplane, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again for a while. This cooldown does not occur for Sims who Like Papercrafting. Spa Day [EA Forums] If a Sim autonomously uses the Yoga Mat, they will receive a cooldown on wanting to do this autonomously again right away. This cooldown does not exist for High Maintenance Sims or Sims who Like Wellness. (Sims must be Level 2 to Autonomously use a Yogo mat - previously and still.) The cooldown is removed when leaving the lot, and when it's the preferred interaction for Getaways, Clubs or Small Businesses. Movie Hangout Stuff [EA Forums] A cooldown has been added to the Popcorn Popper so that after it has been used by a Sim that Sim will not want to immediately use it again for some time. Pet & Animal Fixes With two of our Top Community Issues being around animals and pets, we fixed a few other bugs also in this category to provide a better overall experience with these systems. [EA Forums] Animals in the Animal Shed, Chicken Coop, Mini Goats, and Sheep will no longer be multiplied. This was happening when these animals were placed into a Sim inventory, then back in the world, and after that the Sims moved their Household. (Cottage Living, Horse Ranch) General Bug Fixes We addressed a handful of other important issues that were quickly rising, particularly problematic, or easy fixes to get in. Base Game Sims with the Unflirty trait will no longer get the ick when hugged. Placing a painting on the wall and then returning it to the Sim's inventory will no longer result in a Simulation error. Seasons [EA Forums] Flowers will no longer get stuck midair while crafting a Flower Arrangement. For Rent [EA Forums] The "Do Inspection and Maintenance" interaction is now available on broken objects in a Tenant Household for Landlord Sims. Life & Death We've adjusted design elements on some of our swatches for the Ornate Mystery Run which were concerning to some players. Royalty & Legacy [EA Forums] There was an issue where the updated Family Tree could cause wrong connections and overlapping which has now been fixed. [EA Forums] We fixed a crash that could occur when resuming the game after deleting the Capp Household in Ondarion. [EA Forums] Ondarion's Verdemar lot is no longer reversed. Parenthood Child and Teen Sims who grew up in the same Household but weren't related could get the Super Sibling relationship, despite not being related and then could later romance each other. Because we didn't want to prevent stories where children could have possibly been in the same Household at one point while not related and end up in a relationship, we decided to fix this by renaming the relationships to Childhood Besties and Childhood Frenemy. StrangerVille There should no longer be a Script Call Fail error when the Plant Containment Cell is on the lot and the player tries to place other objects. CAS & Build Mode Tagging Updates We had the opportunity to address a large swath of simpler tagging bugs, making CAS and Build Mode sorting more accurate overall. Here are related issues we fixed: Base Game All Makeup that was in the Everyday Category has been added to both Hot and Cold Weather Outfit Category as a sorting option. We've sorted 43 existing items under the Kids Decoration category. Various lights (that were previously considered wall lights) have been sorted into the Lighting > Outdoor Lights Build Mode Category. “Cute Critter Basket” is now sorting under Objects by Function > Kids > Decorations. Updated the swatch color for (yfMakeupLipstick_EF28GlossyLips_RedRuby) to appear more accurate. (yfBottom_SDX040CCHSkirtPleated) will no longer appear for masculine frame Sims. The Pencil Holder object has been additionally sorted into the Clutter Category in Build Mode. The "Wicker-Work Diaper Storage" object is now sorting under Objects by Function > Kids > Kids Furniture. The "Bow, Bow, Bow!" object is now sorting under Objects by Function > Activities & Skills > Life Events. The "Martian Soil" wall pattern is now categorized under the Misc category rather than the Paneling Build Mode Category. The (wall_V_Clapboard02SGBrick_NT_PeachWhiteBrick) and (wall_V_Clapboard02SGBrick_NT_BlueRedBrick) wall patterns are now sorting into Masonry and Siding. The Sycee of the Prosperous Moon, Right Side Up Gnome, and Bob the Butler Fancy Sculpture have been removed from their previous sorting category and are now sorted under Function > Decorations > Sculptures. Multiple We updated a large amount of love seats and benches to properly be identified as "Benches" for lot requirements when placed. Lovestruck We've adjusted the Lovestruck Beard swatches to display in the correct order. (ymBottom_EP16Jeans) will now appear as a Masculine Fashion Choice in CAS filters. (Lovestruck) Life & Death "Perilous Paneling" and "Patterned and Perilous Paneling" now sort into the Paneling category, and "Lunar Reverie" sorts into the Wallpaper category. Enchanted by Nature "Wild Uncanny Cane" plant is now sorted in both Roof Sculptures and Outdoor Plants. Backyard Stuff (yfTop_SP08TeeBoatNeck_GradientPink) no longer sorts as Yellow in CAS filters. (Backyard Stuff) Moschino The "Libearian" bookshelf and the "I’m So Shiny!" surface have been removed from the Sculptures category. Free Holiday Stuff The "Kinara" and "Menorah" light objects are now sorting under Lighting > Table Lamp. "Holiday Snowman" and "Pre-Strung Tree of Lights" are now sorting under Lighting > Outdoor Lighting. Kitchen Clutter All clutter items from the Kitchen Clutter pack are now visible when sorting by the pack filter and looking under the Misc Decorations category in Build Mod's room view. The Forever Friends Event (ymTop_EV0641TankTwistBack_SolidBlackCyan) will no longer appear for masculine frame Sims. The Nature’s Calling Event The Cove Stone - Round, Cove Stone - Flat, and Cove Stone Cluster objects are now sorted in the Outdoor Plants > Rocks category in Build Mode. Updates on Top Community Voted Issues As part of our investigation into Save Corruption, we began gradually relocating Scratch files from the Documents folder to AppData on PC back in January. This change was designed to help prevent conflicts with cloud backup services, and we rolled it out in phases so we could carefully monitor the impact. The transition is now complete for all PC players. Since the roll out has completed, we have observed improvements in Infinite Load occurrences just shy of what we’d classify as a “statistically significant” shift, which is a great step in the right direction and observed improvements thus far are encouraging. Our team continues to investigate other community concerns for future fixes. Please note that some topics can be complicated to replicate and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch. This includes the following top voted issues: We’ve been working on some “Player Redundancy Solutions” which would add more long term saves in our “Recover Save” feature. We are currently testing these solutions and plan to be providing more information in the future. To learn more about our current implementation of the “Recover Save” feature please see our instructions here. [EA Forums] We've been investigating adding safeguards in the game to check against inappropriate sibling relationships with spouses or fiances. Despite a heavy focus to reproduce the issue, we’re still struggling to reproduce this naturally through gameplay, and the saves we’ve received have the issue already occurring in code (even if it hasn't been updated to UI yet where players can see). This has made it particularly difficult to nail down a preventative fix. These safeguards would fix it after it occurs, rather than preventing it, so we’re being extra careful with our approach for this and need more time and thought to get it right. [EA Forums] [EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums] We’ve been investigating a handful of Black Photo/Texture issues that were recently reported after the February Patch. We’ve been able to verify that none appear to be newly introduced issues, with most going back years. This means, most of our recent fixes have made progress towards cutting down on the number of black photo issues that exist in the game. This is important to clarify so we know if we’re breaking things with our fixes or making progress towards fully eliminating all instances. Thankfully, it’s the latter! Each issue has a very unique set of steps to reproduce and as equally unique a fix required. At this time, fixing the remaining Black Photo issues is one of our highest prioritized areas of focus. [EA Forums] [EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][EA Forums][+ More] We know that “Infants” and the experiences you have playing with them are one of the top areas of community concern. We’re currently investigating a bunch of different infant bugs, including: Sims picking up infants from the cribs and putting them down on the ground, “Check Infant” interactions happening too frequently, and more. These are particularly difficult bugs to address, so we’re hoping to be able to make progress and update you on them soon. [EA Forums] Another important community issue is a situation where Build Mode items can become unplaceable, new objects disappear immediately, and existing objects cannot be moved or deleted. We believe we have a fix, but it will still need testing to verify, so stay tuned! [EA Forums] [EA Forums] We’ve also noticed there are an array of comments and posts concerning various, different sleeping issues that are very highly rated with the community. As simulation remains a top area of focus for us, we’re planning to try to address these concerns holistically with another set of fixes pertaining to “Sims sleeping.” For the latest news, follow Sims Direct on X and join our Discord community - we’ll share updates as they’re available. Thank you for your patience and for all the helpful reports. Please keep posting any issues you encounter on The Sims 4 EA Forums. We’ll keep checking in, and together we’ll make this game the best it can be.Laundry List: Upcoming Bug Fixes - Jan 27, 2026
Hi Simmers! Welcome to the Laundry List, where we share the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to resolve. If you’re hitting crashes, infinite loading, or missing lots, please read our post here to see how you can share affected saves so we can gather some critical information to aid our investigations. -The Sims Team Upcoming Update for Mod Users On February 3, we’re rolling out an exciting Base Game update that introduces expanded and improved functionality for family trees, genealogy, and relationship data. These updates enhance how Sims’ family connections are tracked and displayed, and we’re looking forward to sharing more details with you very soon via @TheSims on X and in The Sims 4 Newsroom. Because this update makes changes to core game systems, our testing has shown that some mods - particularly those that extend or interpret family and relationship data - will be affected. This could appear as missing relatives, unexpected relationship changes, or family trees that don’t reflect what you expect. In rare cases, these issues could negatively impact your save. If you use mods that involve lineage, generational gameplay, or complex family rules, we strongly recommend removing them before the February 3 Base Game update and waiting until the creators confirm compatibility. Thank you for your patience and for giving mod authors the time they need to update their work, helping ensure your Sims’ family stories continue smoothly. Mod creators, in an effort to assist you in updating mods that touch genealogy as mentioned above, we’ve provided a list of Python changes to you for this Base Game update over on the EA Forums here. Save File Investigation Update Improving save file integrity continues to be a top priority. Since our dedicated investigation started in September, we've delivered preventative solutions for a range of issues, both player reported and ones we've identified through our investigation. We've also shipped improvements to core systems, like slowly rolling out changes to Scratch Files and rental cheats, to support this work. For remaining issues, we're awaiting further information from players experiencing them to be able to investigate further, and will continue to monitor for any new player reported issues. We're now ready to shift our focus from investigations to longer-term prevention, and with that, will provide future updates via the Laundry List instead of a monthly standalone post. When these changes ship, they’ll be clearly called out in patch notes, so you’ll always know when something directly related to save stability has been addressed. This approach lets the team focus on durable fixes while still keeping communication clear and at a regular cadence. Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for our next update: [EA Forums] Resolved an issue that caused photos to turn black discovered after the January 13th Base Game update. [EA Forums] Fixed a UI issue in Create a Sim that was preventing elements from displaying in turn ons and turn offs, as well as the like and dislike buttons. [EA Forums] Fixed additional instances of an issue where entering and exiting Build Mode during Scenarios with goals would cause the UI to disappear or the game to become unresponsive. [EA Forums] Editing Mermaids or Aliens in Create a Sim should no longer cause a game crash. [EA Forums] Resolved an issue that could prevent room type assignments in Build Mode. [EA Forums] Simple Slattered and MasterCraft staircases no longer have an extra board when placing L-shaped stairs. [EA Forums] Book covers for Baking, Wellness, Snowboarding, Rock Climbing, Herbalism and Photography books should no longer change when placed on retail displays. Fabrication and Mixology skill books no longer have the same book cover. [EA Forums] Resolved an issue causing nail asset yfAcc_ManiNaturalShort_SolidDirt to cause a metallic effect to the entire body. [Bug Archive] Resolved an issue where Sims' Great Grandparents incorrectly had romantic interactions available to them with extended family members. [Bug Archive] Resolved an issue causing nail assets yfAcc_ManiGP12Forest and ymAcc_ManiGP12Forest to show lines around the upper arm on Sims. [Bug Archive] Resolved an issue where Sims didn’t complete the 'Dance With Someone' goal at Prom, preventing a Gold Event rating. [Bug Archive] Upgraded vacuums now work in the "Off the Grid" Lot type. Updates on Top Community Voted Issues Our team continues to investigate other community concerns for future fixes. Please note that some topics can be complicated to replicate and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch. This includes the following top voted issues: Eyes/Eyelids Issues (Patch 1.110.265/2.01) - Work continues on this top community reported concern, and preliminary behind the scenes work went out as part of the January 13th Base Game update, we hope to have more to share soon on this one! Disappearances of Pets and Horses in Premade Households - The team feels they are circling a fix for this issue, and we’re hoping to have a fix for internal testing soon. We’ll share more on this one as soon as we’re able. Strangers in your conversation - We've begun investigating this issue, and the team is working on some new theories that could lead to fixes that we hope to share soon. Animals stuck/disappeared in inventory - We are testing potential fixes for this issue that look promising so far, we hope to have more to share shortly. Sims obsessively use objects - We have several proposed fixes under investigation for issues reported in this thread, we’ll share new information as it becomes available. For the latest news, follow Sims Direct on X and join our Discord community - we’ll share updates as they’re available. Thank you for your patience and for all the helpful reports. Please keep posting any issues you encounter on The Sims 4 EA Forums. We’ll keep checking in, and together we’ll make this game the best it can be.Share Your Multi-Generational Save Files with Maxis!
Hey Simmers, We're currently testing a new feature and are looking for save files with multi-generational families to help us with testing. Ideally, these saves would include several generations with family connections such as marriages, children, cousins, aunts, uncles, and great grandparents. What we're looking for: Save files with 3+ families spanning 3–5+ generations. Lots of interconnected family relationships (cousins, aunts/uncles, great-aunts/uncles, etc.) Bonus if larger families have intermarried, linking family trees. Any packs are welcome, including base game! Mods are fine to include! If you'd like to share your save file with us, please send me a private message with a link to the file. Instructions on how to send your save files can be found here: [INFORMATION] How to Send User Files to The Sims 4 Team Thanks so much for your help, we really appreciate you supporting our testing efforts!Laundry List: Upcoming Bug Fixes - Jan 6, 2026
Hi Simmers! Welcome to the Laundry List where we share the top community concerns that we’re currently investigating and hope to resolve. This is only a list of top topics with upcoming fixes; there are more topics reported by players that are not listed here and are still being worked on. Thank you for your continued reports and votes on what issues you’re experiencing. Our investigation into save file issues is ongoing, and you can read our latest in depth update here. As always, if you’re hitting crashes, infinite loading, or missing lots, please read our post here to see how you can share affected saves so we can gather some critical information to aid our investigations. -The Sims Team Here’s the list of the top community concerns we’re investigating for our next update: Top 5 Most Voted Fixes: [EA Forums] We addressed the top reported issue: Server Error while Uploading to Gallery/Library. This was primarily a Console issue but could occur with PC. (Base Game) This error is a valid error that should occur under certain circumstances, but we fixed the flow so that it is more forgiving to player systems and far less likely to occur. The Upload button will not be available until all thumbnail issues have been generated. When this error does occur, we have updated the generic “Server Error” message, and players will now receive a dialogue that provides more information and says “Time out during upload. Please check internet connection or try again in a minute.” [EA Forums] In our 12/2/25 Update, we fixed an issue where Child, Teen, Young Adult, Adult, and Elder Sims no longer had clothing visible under their privacy mosaic. We are now addressing this issue for the remaining age groups, fully resolving the issue. (Base Game) [EA Forums] We fixed a notable instance of Sims standing around and not caring for their infants. While holding Infants, Sims were playing an idle animation that delayed responsiveness to queued interactions. This idle was removed. We hope to further address additional Infant issues in future updates. (Base Game) [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Memorial Portraits and Graduation Photos would no longer display a Sim's image and appear blank. This fix does not address Portraits and Photos that were already broken, but will work on old saves for future gameplay with these objects. (University, Life & Death) [EA Forums] Household, Small Business-employed Sims will no longer receive a 'Miss Work/School' UI pop up when opening a Small Business while the Sim is at the Work/School Rabbit Hole. (Multiple Packs) Save Corruption As part of our ongoing efforts to address Save Corruption, we have two Save Corruption bugs that we’re addressing in this patch. [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where open street objects were being ‘shelved’ and never removed when traveling to an apartment building. (Multiple Packs) We fixed a case of Save Corruption where the player could become stuck in an endless load or be returned to Manage World after setting a custom venue’s schedule to include a Romantic Orientation Role criteria. (Adventure Awaits) Photos/Paintings Losing Data For this patch, we knew that “Memorial Portraits and Graduation Photos no longer displaying a Sim’s image” was a top community concern. We wanted to address as many bugs in this category as we could. Here are all related issues we fixed: [EA Forums] Paint by Reference Paintings will no longer turn white after they’ve been put in a Sim’s inventory and the game has been relaunched. This fix is retroactive and should be fixed in previous saves where it occurred. (Base Game) [EA Forums] Photos captured with Phone/Camera will no longer turn black once they’ve been mounted on a wall and the game is relaunched. This fix is not retroactive and will not address instances where photos were already missing data, but the fix will prevent this from happening in the future (even in old saves). (Base Game) [EA Forums] Photos captured with Phone/Camera will no longer turn black once they’ve been put in Sim’s Inventory or placed in storage chests and the game is relaunched. This fix is not retroactive and will not address instances where photos were already missing data, but the fix will prevent this from happening in the future (even in old saves). (Base Game) [EA Forums] The “Create Copy” interaction on a painting no longer will result in a blank, white painting canvas when placed on the wall. This fix is retroactive and should be fixed in previous saves where it occurred. (Base Game) [EA Forums] Celebrity Autographs will no longer appear blank after they’ve been hung on a wall and the game is relaunched. This fix is not retroactive and will not address instances where photos were already missing data, but the fix will prevent this from happening in the future (even in old saves). (Get Famous) [EA Forums] As noted above in the Top 5 Fixes, we fixed an issue where Memorial Portraits and Graduation Photos would no longer display a Sim's image and appear blank. This fix is not retroactive and will not address instances where photos were already missing data, but the fix will prevent this from happening in the future (even in old saves). (University, Life & Death) Now Available CAS Items! We fixed four instances where CAS items were being hidden from players, so you’ll now have them available for your enjoyment. [EA Forums] (yfHair_EP20DoubleDutchBraid_LightBrown) now properly appears brown, rather than being an exact copy of the Light Blonde variant. (Adventure Awaits) [EA Forums] The (cuBody_EP20RashGuard_LogoNavy) variant is no longer missing. (Adventure Awaits) The (EP14BangsMedium) hair (and all variants) are now also available for Child Sims. (Horse Ranch) While investigating an issue with the Toddler Makeup category, we discovered the (puMakeupFacepaint_EP19Floral) asset was hidden, and we have unlocked it for your use. (Enchanted by Nature) General Bug Fixes We addressed a handful of other important issues that were quickly rising, particularly problematic, or easy fixes to get in. Base Game [EA Forums] We addressed a rather significant issue where Away Actions at work were causing Sims to never receive Need gains while at work or school due to a change that was made during Adventure Awaits to how Away Actions at work function. We fixed an additional bug pertaining to this where Toddler and Infant Needs will now increase while at Daycare properly. Bladder, Hunger, Energy, and Attention should receive large increases, Fun a small but tapering increase, and Hygiene no increase. [EA Forums] We addressed an issue where the “Fight” interaction was available on all Sims, even if they had a positive relationship. Now, it should only appear if the Sims have a negative relationship. Seasons [EA Forums] Sims will no longer sometimes die of overheating while wearing the correct clothing. Blame the ghosts: this bug was due to the Overheating Ghost type and the aura they emanate. [EA Forums] In a previous patch we addressed an issue where sand sculptures were auto-generating on beaches when it rained a lot. We’re submitting the remaining portions of this fix to ensure it's now fully fixed in all cases. Growing Together [EA Forums] We’ve addressed an issue where it was difficult to unlock the Pull to Stand Milestone. The problem is that Infants need to be near certain specific objects to pull themselves up for the first time, but this is never indicated to the player and sometimes infants aren’t located near these objects. They can still unlock this Milestone as they could previously, but to address the concerns with this not being obvious in many cases, we’ve added a greyed out interaction and hovertip that directs the player to place the Infant in the Crib. While in the crib, the Infant can pull themselves to a stand, and (as an additional option) we’ve added a new interaction to Infant Sims in the crib to pull themselves up once they are ready to unlock the Milestone. This interaction is available on the Infant Sim when the Infant is the Active Sim. Business & Hobbies [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Small Business Employees were leaving early (only 2-3 hours after opening) if a business was 5-Star and selected customer criteria was supervised customer only. Now, all hired employees should stay on a small business lot while it is open. Adventure Awaits [EA Forums] (yfTop_EP20VNeckTee) no longer has a visible seam on the shoulder when worn by Sims downloaded from the Gallery. [EA Forums] Imaginary Friends will no longer reset and disappear from the Relationship Panel after returning from another lot. [EA Forums] Custom Venues will now save Roles and Schedules with a custom role containing a Romantic Orientation criteria. This issue was resulting in a case of Save Corruption as well that was addressed and is noted above in that section. Werewolves [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Werewolf offspring of Werewolves had black textures and no pelts upon aging to Teen. Our fix should apply a texture to any Werewolf Sim who is lacking one upon entering CAS and should address old instances of this occurring. Multiple [EA Forums] We fixed all reports of the camera being obstructed by trees in Gallery preview views of lots. [EA Forums] Maids and Butlers will now once again try to mop puddles instead of vacuuming them fruitlessly for hours. We assure you they were trying their best, and we appreciate your patience with them. CAS & Build Mode Tagging Updates We had the opportunity to address a large swath of simpler tagging bugs, making CAS and Build Mode sorting more accurate overall. The Lump of Clay (Base Game) and Stack ‘o Books (Cats & Dogs) objects also acquired some new gameplay functionality. Here are related issues we fixed: Base Game Lump of Clay now sorts as a Kids Activity and also sorts in the Creative Skills Section. It has also been updated to provide Creativity Skill gain for Children Sims. The In Full Bloom Centerpiece is now sorted as an Indoor Plant. Wedding Pillar with Floral Basket is now sorted as an Indoor Plant. (sitDining_EF07IRN02), (sitDiningIRN_01), and (SitDiningGENChess) now sort under Outdoor Seating and will filter for Park venues. The Men’s Shoe Rack and Women’s Show Rack objects now sort under the Storage Misc Category. The Bonsai Tree now sorts as an Indoor Plant. PenguinVision Children's Television Set now sorts as a Kids Activity. (yfHair_EP08BraidedPonyTail) now sorts as Afro-Textured. (cfHair_SP10ShortPinCurlLoose) now sorts as Wavy. (yfHair_EF90WaveMedium) now sorts as Wavy. (yfHair_EF90FiveFivePerm) now sorts as Straight for all ages. (yfHair_EF03TragicClown) now sorts as Straight. The (pmHair_SP12TightCurls) hairstyle now also appears as a Feminine Fashion Choice. (cuTop_Shirt) now properly sorts as a Button up instead of a T-Shirt. Get to Work (cfHair_EP01BraidsBunSide) now sorts as Afro-Textured. Cats & Dogs The Stack 'o Books object now sorts as a bookshelf, and it is also now functional as a bookshelf. Outdoor Patio Piece now counts as a Picnic Table. (ymHair_EP04Pompadour) now sorts as Wavy. (yfHair_EP04CurlyLongMiddlePart) now sorts as Wavy. (yfHair_EP04LowLoopWavy) now sorts as Straight. (cmHair_EP04WavyHawkDetail) now sorts as Afro-Textured. Seasons The Bow-tiful Candlelight is now properly sorted in the Off the Grid Lighting Category. Island Living (yfHair_EP07FlowerCrown) now sorts as Straight. Cottage Living (pfBottom_EP11ShortsDrawstring) was moved from the Cropped category and into the Shorts sub-category. (cfBody_EP11Jumpsuit) was moved from the Short Dresses to Jumpsuits sub-category for sorting. All (EP11CurlyBun) hairstyles now sort as Wavy for all age groups. Horse Ranch All three Horse Ranch facial hairs have been sorted into their respective Beards and Moustache sub-categories. Eco Lifestyle (yfHair_EP09CurlyBun) now sorts as Wavy. (yfHair_EP09BunFade) now sorts as Straight. Snowy Escape The Komorebi Shrubbery no longer sorts as an Indoor Plant. The Lantern in a Paper Cylinder and Stone Tōrō Lantern lights are now properly sorted into the Off the Grid Lighting Category. The (EP10ShortBuzzed) hairstyle is now consistently tagged between all age groups. (yfHair_EP10LongBraidedWavy) now sorts as Afro-Textured. (EP10LongBraidedWavyHighlight) now sorts as Afro-Textured. (yfHair_EP10LongBraidPony) now sorts as Straight. (EP10BunBangs) now sorts as Straight. Growing Together The (EP13LongBraids) hair now sorts consistently across all age groups. (EP13WavyMed) now sorts as Straight for all age groups. Lovestruck Makeup from Lovestruck will now appear for Cold and Hot Weather Outfits as an option. The Elongated Zebra Pothos Plant now sorts as an Indoor Plant. Business & Hobbies (ymHat_EP18Beanie) now sorts as a Brimless Hat. (yfHair_EP18_SlickBun) now sorts under Updo and Medium Length Hair. (yfHair_EP18Hattie) now sorts as a Long Length Hair. (yfHair_EP18FingerCurls) now sorts as an Updo. Spa Day The Foot Illumination System and Foot Illumination Corner Edition lights have been added to sort in the Lighting Category in Build Mode. Parenthood The Hanging Lights - long length and Hanging Lights - short length lights have been added to sort in the Lighting Category in Build Mode. Jungle Adventures (yfHair_GP06ShortPony2Tone) will now appear for Male and Female Sims for both fashion choice options. Realm of Magic The following lights will now be properly sorted in the Off the Grid Lighting Category: Light of the Marasenna Sconce For Little Light Totally Lit Bug Light Dream Home Decorator (cuBottom_GP10Shorts) were removed from the Skirts sub-category, added to the Shorts sub-category, and also added as a Hot Weather option. Holiday Celebration Pack The String of Snowflakes lights have been added to sort in the Lighting Category in Build Mode. Movie Hangout (SP05LongBraidCurled_DirtyBlonde) is now sorted as Wavy for all age groups. Moschino The Photo Drape, Fashion Studio Backdrop Curved, and Fashion Studio Backdrop Straight objects have been added to the Creative sub-category in Build Mode’s Activity and Skills category. Paranormal (SP18AngleBootsToeOpen) now sort as Wedges. Little Campers We fixed a text error where the Light My Way to the Moon Lamp object had a “Functional Off-the-Grid 10” typo error. The Light My Way to the Moon Lamp has been sorted into the Off the Grid Lighting Category. Goth Galore All makeup from Goth Galore will now appear for Cold and Hot Weather Outfits as an option. Autumn Apparel [EA Forums] The (ymBottom_SP69PantsLong) now sort as a Masculine Fashion Choice. Our team continues to investigate other community concerns for future fixes. Please note that some topics can be complicated to replicate and require an extended investigation on our end, so even though we are actively reviewing, it’s not a guarantee that we’ll have an immediate fix for it in the upcoming patch. This includes the following top voted issues: [EA Forums] Console crashing after update 2.13 has become our current community top issue, and we have begun actively investigating it. [EA Forums] We have been looking into CAS’s Turn On/Offs lacking numbers and the like/dislike button, and feel hopeful about this being resolved after January. [EA Forums] Eyelids not closing completely has been an issue we’ve been actively investigating and has proven rather complex. We are continuing our efforts. [EA Forums] We’ve been actively investigating Partnered Sims turning into Siblings and believe (though have not verified) it may be related to gameplay around Adoption, Have Science Baby, and CAS generated offspring, but we still haven’t found repro steps and have expanded our investigation to include mods. At this time, we haven’t determined a fix. Any saves that exist shortly prior to this occurring could really assist our efforts and can be shared in the linked Forum thread. [EA Forums] We’re actively investigating a variety of different fixes for the issues in this thread concerning Sims obsessively using certain objects. For the latest news, follow Sims Direct on X and join our Discord community - we’ll share updates as they’re available. Thank you for your patience and for all the helpful reports. Please keep posting any issues you encounter on The Sims 4 EA Forums. We’ll keep checking in, and together we’ll make this game the best it can be.The 12 Days of Simsmas - 2025
Sul Sul! It’s the most wonderful time of the year - The 12 Days of Simsmas is back! Get ready to celebrate another season of holiday fun packed with daily activities and a festive giveaway! This year we're celebrating alongside our official Holiday Gift Guides - we've got something for every kind of Simmer, whether you're a hopeless romantic or a chaotic storyteller, be sure to check out each collection here. For the next 12 days, we’ll be dropping a brand new seasonal challenge for you to participate in, so be sure to check back every day for more Simsmas fun! 🎄🎁✨ Day 1 - A Very Merry Makeover - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 2 - Present Hunt - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 3 - Holiday Hustle - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 4 - Ink the Halls - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 5 - The Great Simsmas Mix-up - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 6 - Faery Winter - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 7 - Once Upon a Simsmas - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 8 - Where's Father Winter? - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 9 - A Simsmas Carol - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 10 - Child's Play - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 11 - Simsmas Movie Magic - The 12 Days of Simsmas Day 12 - New Year, Old Flame - The 12 Days of Simsmas And just like last year, we're giving you a chance to win your choice of a Kit, Stuff Pack, Game Pack, or Expansion Pack for The Sims™ 4! To enter the giveaway, players on PC, Mac, Xbox and PlayStation will have until the 12 Days of Simsmas ends (December 31, 2025 at 11:59 PM CT) to comment on this post and share what the holidays mean to you; make sure you also include the hashtag #EASweepstakes to be considered! Two lucky winners will be contacted via EA Forums Private Message, so keep an eye on your DM's! For full details on how to enter, how winners will be selected, and which countries are eligible to participate, check out the official contest rules below: We’re also kicking things up a notch this year with a special Festive Challenge exclusively for our Discord members - share your in-game screenshots of what the holidays mean to you and decorate your Sim’s home for the season! 10 lucky winners will be chosen randomly to win 1 Expansion Pack of their choice, so be sure to join the Official Sims Discord here to get started!Save File Investigation Recap and Early 2026 Plans
Sul Sul, Simmers! Over the past few months we’ve been sharing our progress with you as we work our way through concerns about save file issues, disappearing Lots, white screens, and loading problems. We know how frustrating it is when a beloved save doesn’t behave the way it should, and we want to keep you in the loop about the work happening behind the scenes to protect your hard-earned progress, stories, and creations. Our team has been deep in the trenches testing, reproducing, analyzing, and building new tools, to understand the many factors that can contribute to save corruption. While there’s no single bug to fix that fixes them all, we’ve made meaningful progress across several key areas, thanks in large part to the saves and reports you’ve shared with us. Here’s a recap of what’s been happening, where we are right now, and what our early 2026 plans look like. Investigation, Fixes, and New Tools At the start of this quarter, we kicked off a large-scale review of community-reported issues. We’ve been tracking everything from Lots disappearing in heavily populated Residential Rental worlds to white screens, endless loading loops, and cases where the game loads but saves show missing neighbors, objects, or builds. These issues vary widely with some only occurring on certain platforms, others only under very specific conditions, but we’ve been treating each one with care and urgency. To support this work, we created a new Python-based tool that helps us analyze the structure and contents of affected save files much more efficiently. This tool has already helped us spot patterns in file size, mods, Lot complexity, and version history - giving our engineers more concrete leads to investigate. We’ve also built an expanding database of player-submitted saves, which helps us compare cases and identify common traits more quickly. What We’ve Fixed So Far We’ve shipped several meaningful steps forward this quarter: Infinite Loading Fix Released We identified an issue that caused infinite loading when converting Penthouses or Dorms into Residential Rentals, something that arose with Adventure Awaits. A fix was released in the November 4 Base Game update. Several Error Codes Solved in Player-Submitted Saves We’ve resolved the underlying causes of Error 109:4fe45107, 109:d7e16575, and 123:b378c837 in the saves where they originally occurred. These fixes were released in the December 2nd Base Game update, and if you see these errors again we want your saves so we can track down additional causes. What We’re Investigating Right Now Protobuf Overflow – A Leading Theory for Missing Lots We’ve found compelling evidence that some cases of missing Lots or disappearing houses may be caused by what we call a Protobuf Overflow - a situation where Lot or save data grows so large it hits its storage limit. Our early testing suggests that the Memory Boost feature reduces this risk on some hardware configurations, and in certain cases, even makes missing Lots reappear when loading a broken save. This is an active area of testing and one where your data can heavily accelerate our progress. Error 801 and Scratch File Behavior Error 801 remains a top priority. Current findings suggest that multiple game processes may compete during load, causing inconsistent results. We’re also taking preventative steps by relocating scratch files from the Documents folder to AppData in an upcoming update to avoid conflicts with cloud backup services. Complex, Cheated, or Modded Lots We’re testing how extreme builds like heavily decorated Lots, MoveObjects placements, or builds using cheats behave when placed into saves that don’t have those cheats active. Some of these cases can create unexpected complexity that the game struggles to resolve, especially when mods or custom Lot traits were involved. Data Carrying Between Saves In rare cases, data from one save can carry into a second newly created save in the same session. This behavior started in Lovestruck, and while it doesn’t explain older corruption reports, it does give us valuable insight into how systems interact internally. Your Reports Continue to Drive This Work Across this quarter, your reports, votes, comments, and shared save files have been essential to every discovery we’ve made. Many investigations like scratch file questions or Lot data inconsistencies began with specific saves you sent us. And when we say we’re still collecting saves, we truly mean it: every single one helps. To help us push further into the Protobuf and missing Lot investigations, we’ve put together a Missing Lot Data Survey. If you’ve experienced disappearing Lots, odd load behavior, or interactions between Memory Boost and missing data, this survey will help us gather the targeted information we need. What You Can Expect in Early 2026 In early 2026 you can expect to see fixes for flea market items disappearing and reappearing, more fixes around photos turning black, our previously announced moving of scratch files, and more. For the scratch files, we will be staggering the roll out behind the scenes so that we can closely monitor for any issues before a full roll out to all players. You can also expect more updates from the team on our save file investigations, including testing around our investigations into mod data being shared via the Gallery. We’ll be back early in the new year with more to share, and as always, you can stay tuned to our social channels like TheSimsDirect on X and The Sims Discord for ongoing news. Thanks for sticking with us, for sharing your saves, and for helping us make The Sims 4 safer and more stable for everyone. Your willingness to share details, files, and feedback directly impacts the work we’re doing, and it accelerates our progress toward long-term fixes. We’ll see you back here in January with more updates. Dag dag!Laundry List - November 25th, 2025
Hi Simmers! Welcome to the Laundry List, where we update the community on what's coming next to The Sims 4! We’re thinking about giving this series a new name and we’d love your input! The Laundry List is where we share updates on the topics you’ve been talking about most, so it only makes sense that you help decide what it’s called. Should we keep the current name, go with something more descriptive, or try something totally new? Share your thoughts with us in Discord via our feedback forum that is available now! As we move beyond our 150+ fixes with the November 4th update, we remain committed to resolving your top community reported concerns. Many of our remaining top community concerns are trickier ones to fix, as they’re deeply connected to other game systems and take more time to solve safely. That means you might see fewer fixes from this team, but each one will make a bigger impact and help create a more stable game overall. We also know that community concerns around Careers have been top of mind for Simmers, and you’ll see some investment into that area below. We’ll have another batch of fixes for you in early 2026, more on that below December’s fixes. These fixes are separate from the ongoing investigation into save file issues, which we’ve provided an in-depth update here. As a quick recap, we've shipped a fix for residential units causing a white screen, and our investigations into large saves and Error 801 is providing great leads for future fixes. We also published articles that provide guidance for playing performantly, and how to back up your saves for extra peace of mind. You can read all of these articles and more on our EA Forums Sims Game Info Hub. As always, if you’re hitting crashes, infinite loading, or missing lots, please read our post here to see how you can share affected saves so we can gather some critical information to aid our investigations. - The Sims Team Here’s the list of the top community concerns you can expect to see fixed in our December update: Top 5 Most Voted Fixes: [EA Forums] Sims will once again change into their outfits in front of toddler Sims. However, the cause of the issue is different for other ages and we’re still investigating those instances to hopefully fix in an upcoming update. (Base Game) [EA Forums] Sims are now able to travel between world/lots without the Seasons screen popping up. (Seasons) [EA Forums] Male Gallery Sims will no longer have high-pitched voices. Their correct voice tone will be used. This fix is not retroactive and will only affect future saves going forward. (Lovestruck) [EA Forums] We fixed an instance of Save Corruption that was resulting in Error code: 123:b378c837: In this Save, a Sim was dead, a ghost, and min LOD (Not actively engaged with by the player), which was causing some code around Small Business careers to crash the game on load. We made it so that if a Sim is referenced in this situation the game will not crash when trying to load. (Business & Hobbies) [EA Forums] Made progress on Children being taken away despite not being neglected. More investigation is required before we mark this one as fully resolved. (Life & Death) Base Game: [EA Forums] The Nature Soundscapes radio station will no longer wake up Sims when they listen to it while sleeping. [EA Forums] Teens will retain their active Aspiration (so long as it is not a ‘Teen-specific’ Aspiration) when they age up into a Young Adult. [EA Forums] We rebalanced the “Mental Fog” moodlet to appear after 3-4 days of running the “Work Hard” career tone. It used to appear after 1-2 days of doing this. [EA Forums] The Arrrmed Living Chair had a duplicate color swatch. We didn’t want to remove a swatch, because that might break existing builds, so we decided to change one of those swatches to be a new variant. When choosing what color to go with, the artist thought this piece of furniture might nicely match some of the Enchanted by Nature furniture in style. But it felt odd to add just one swatch, so we added an additional two other variants, but then realized the Arrrmed Living Chair was part of a set, and we probably wanted those three new variants to match other pieces of furniture from Base Game—takes a breath—so in total there are at total of 27 new free swatches (9 objects with three new variants each). Here’s a list of the updated furniture pieces. Enjoy! (We know Princess Cordelia would!) Arrrmed Living Chair Deep Delight Living Chair Cuttlefish Love Seat Cuttlefish Sofa Arrrmed Dining Chair Captain Rodrigo de Pablo Dining Chair Arrrmless Dining Chair Cephalopod Bar Stool with Back Support Cephalopod Bar Stool [EA Forums] The Main Menu will no longer show “WWWWWW” when there isn’t an active Household to display on the Main Menu. [EA Forums] Sims will once again change into their outfits and not remain nude in front of Toddler Sims. [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where Moodlets and Quirk notifications could occur for a Young Adult Sim. [EA Forums] We fixed some texture issues with the IndustryMatters Brick Facade with Wood Trim wallpaper when applied to wall corners for two of the wallpaper’s variants. Sims without the Horse Ranch Expansion were able to get a Fear of Horses, but this can no longer happen. Good and Evil Sims will no longer mourn excessively at gravestones. Adventure Awaits: [EA Forums] We partially addressed this Forum Thread with a significant fix. Pre-made Custom venues will now display and execute their premade Schedules in the Release mode version of the game. This means when you load into a premade Custom Venue, you will now see the proper schedules and gameplay. This was previously only working on our internal builds due to some code that needed changed. [EA Forums] cfTop_EP20PulloverLayered is now tagged as a Masculine style choice option. [EA Forums] All Adventure Awaits Toddler and Child hairstyles are now visible if you remove the Masculine/Feminine Style choice filters. The Gran Gran’s Flannel Curtain rods were using a different shader than the curtain set, but we’ve updated them to use the same shader. This was done on purpose since curtains and solid objects use different shaders, but in this case, it caused a difference in some lighting scenarios which made the objects look like they were different colors. ymTop_EP20FleeceCurve was missing fashion choice tags. These have been added. Autumn Apparel: [EA Forums] Fingernails will no longer clip through the yfAcc_GlovesSP69Leather asset. Business & Hobbies: [EA Forums] The ‘Stucko’s Top Stucco’ Wallpaper now extends fully to the floor when applied. [EA Forums] We added a missing purple variant color swatch to 8 doors and windows. Lang's Door Double Arched Nordhaven-Style Door Single Nordhaven-Style Door Arched Nordhaven-Style Window Nordhaven-Style Portal Window Nordhaven-Style Cottage Window Nordhaven-Style Window Nordhaven-Style Glass-Block Window Cats & Dogs: [EA Forums] We fixed a situation where it looked like you couldn’t have more than 7 Sims in a Household. This was because the Household had an empty Sim slot ‘reserved’ for an “Adopt a Cat” story arc that the player couldn’t know was happening in the background. This story arc will now just wait until there is an available household slot and not prevent the addition of new members to the Household in the meantime. [EA Forums] We added timing restrictions on how often a Pet can explore the PooHoo Bush to every 3 days. Doing this causes them to get sick and was previously happening too frequently. Sims will no longer receive a text from their Pet about missing curfew. City Living: [EA Forums] Sims in the Social Media Career will now automatically meet their Coworkers so that they can perform certain work from tasks. This fix will only occur on fresh saves. Cottage Living: Added a shadow to the Cottage Living pack icon. For Rent: [EA Forums] Lines will no longer appear on Sims’ arms while wearing either the yfTop_EP15StackedPocketShirt or ymTop_EP15StackedPocketShirt shirt if nails are also equipped. Get Famous: The “Attend Drama Club” interaction is now available as a Self-interaction and on other Household members when a Teen Sim is at max level in Drama Club and has left for rehearsal. This interaction will remain for 90 in game seconds afterwards to allow the player time to select it. Greenhouse Haven: The AirCycler fan will no longer disappear when viewed from a different floor than the floor the player is currently on. High School Years: [EA Forums] The Corndog food object is no longer using a block model (which appeared as invisible in the live version of the game). This also fixes the related issue where it didn’t appear in preview UI images. Life & Death: [EA Forums] House Parties and Spooky Parties have been added as viable options for the Bucket List goal “I want to throw the most bizarre costume party of all time!” [EA Forums] Ghost Sims will no longer appear as a regular, living Sim while in the Reaper Career attempting to collect souls. [EA Forums] The Mentor Coworker interaction is available on a Co-Worker while they are performing “Practice Reaping’ on the training dummy. The “Ingest Ambrosia” interaction is now available to Ghost SIms when Ambrosia was made by Sims from another Household. This was preventing Sims who were in the Reaper Career from eating Ambrosia. My Wedding Stories: [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where the “Exchange Vows” interaction could become greyed out on the Wedding Arch even though the necessary Sims were present for the ceremony. Paranormal Stuff: The Terrified and Scared emotions are now available in Sim Stats. Realm of Magic: [EA Forums] All variant textures display the logo of the bottle properly on the Classic Apothecary Cabinet. Seasons: [EA Forums] Children and Teens can now donate on the computer when in the Scouts after school program. Vampires: Non-Vampire Sims will no longer autonomously eat Plasma Fruit Salad. Multiple Packs: [EA Forums] We fixed an instance of Save Corruption that was resulting in Error Code 109:4fe45107:239aa048: There was a Clone Sim in this Save game that has a Household with a status of “None” in our code. We fixed it so if a Household is in this state it will no longer crash the game upon trying to load. (Business & Hobbies & Get to Work) [EA Forums] We fixed an issue where sand sculptures were auto-generating on beaches when it rained a lot. This is still occurring if the Weather Machine is used by the player, but we have a fix planned for that instance in an upcoming patch. (Island Living & Seasons) [EA Forums] We made a change that allows gates with lanterns to have the lanterns light up the area around them. This should now work for the following gates: Spanish Inquisition (Base Game) Woodn't You Like to Know (Base Game) Maiden’s Gate (Base Game) Barn Door Double (Cats & Dogs) Cozy Craftsman Gate (Seasons) [EA Forums] Sims who dislike Mischief or Singing will no longer autonomously do mischievous behaviors or sing. (Basegame & City Living) [EA Forums] The Police Station, Foxbury Commons, and other work computers are now fixable after they’ve broken. (Get to Work, University, & More) [EA Forums] The Tomarani Introduction will now fulfill the “Greet Co-Worker” task in the Doctor Career. (Get to Work & For Rent) Fixed an issue with Temporary Stays where certain Sims couldn’t be invited to stay over from a Residential Rental lot. (Growing Together) As we head into the new year, our team maintains focus on improving stability and performance across The Sims 4. We’re actively working on the following top community reported concerns, targeting our January Base Game update. [EA Forums] [EA Forums] We’ve confirmed that the Makeup Category for Toddlers is currently working live, but it requires custom content (CC) to appear. We’re still looking into reports that it stopped working after the Business & Hobbies release and that there may have been non-CC assets before, so we’d appreciate any screenshots or clues you can share to help us figure it out. [EA Forums] [EA Forums] We were able to load these saves using our Memory Boost feature, so it feels like a promising lead or (in some cases) a fix for PC players! However, we’re still in the process of testing this against different hardware scenarios. If you are experiencing these issues, please fill out our Missing Lot Data survey. [EA Forums] The server error when uploading to the Gallery or Library is the top community issue, and we’re actively working on a fix—though it has proven tricky. [EA Forums] We’ve identified the main cause of Sims standing around instead of caring for infants and toddlers and plan to provide an update soon. [EA Forums] Memorial Portraits and Graduation Photos no longer display a Sim’s image and appear blank is another top community issue we’ve made progress on and are targeting for a future update. [EA Forums] Sims attending a Work/School Rabbit Hole not remaining in the Rabbit Hole when loading a Save (where the Sims were Employees of an 'Open' Small Business) is another top issue that we think we’re testing a fix for. [EA Forums] “Sims using objects obsessively” is another issue we’re tackling. This is a rather complicated issue to solve that might take some time, but we have some creative solutions we’re discussing. That’s just a brief update on what we’re currently looking at fixing next! There’s plenty more and at least six other issues in our top 10 community issues we want to at least get started investigating. They’re all tricky ones, so thank you for your patience, reports, and continued support! For the latest news, follow Sims Direct on X and join our Discord community - we’ll share updates as they’re available. Thank you for your patience and for all the helpful reports. Please keep posting any issues you encounter on The Sims 4 EA Forums. We’ll keep checking in, and together we’ll make this game the best it can be.Community Concerns with Save File Issues - November 2025 Update
Sul Sul, Simmers, Welcome to our November update into save file investigations. Over the past few months, our team has been testing, analyzing, and dissecting every lead - from missing lots to infinite loading loops - to understand what’s really happening under the hood. Thanks to our new Python-based tool and a growing database of player-submitted saves, we’ve identified several consistent patterns that point to the root causes of these problems. Here’s a high-level overview of where we’re at and where we’re headed, with more technical details below. 1. Fixed a cause of infinite loading on November 4th. Our team was able to identify and reproduce an issue that was causing infinite loading when converting Penthouses or Dorms into Residential Rentals. This issue was discovered internally, not linked to any previously ongoing investigations, and began with Adventure Awaits. A fix was shipped out alongside the community voted issues in the November 4th Base Game update. 2. Thanks to the community providing their affected saves, we’ve also been able to resolve the underlying causes for Error code: 109:4fe45107, Error code: 109:d7e16575, and Error code: 123:b378c837 in the saves that they were originally occurring in. You can expect to see these fixes in our upcoming Base Game update in December. This does not mean that these error codes will no longer occur, but we can confirm that we've resolved the issue that was triggering the error in the provided saves. If you do run into these error codes again, please let us know on EA Forums and provide your save file to the team as we work to eliminate other causes. 3. We’re also exploring what we call a “Protobuf Overflow” - a case where save or Lot data grows so large it exceeds its storage limits, leading to missing or corrupted Lots. The good news is that our Memory Boost Feature seems to reduce this risk, and we’re continuing to test this theory using intentionally overstuffed save files. We’re also tackling Error 801, where multiple processes compete during load and can crash the game, and we’ve begun the process of moving scratch files from the Documents folder to AppData to prevent conflicts with cloud backups. On top of that, we’re investigating event overlaps, cheat-heavy or modded Lots, lingering mod data, and even cases where venue data carries into new saves. The further we investigate these issues, the more we’re certain that save corruption has no single underlying cause, there is no “patient zero”. More accurately, save corruption is akin to “18 bugs in a trench coat” that we continue to curtail as we progress. - The Sims Team Our Current Investigations: Protobufs - Missing Lot Data Our investigations suggest that missing Lot data may be caused by a “Protobuf Overflow.” Protobufs are the data files that store information about your saves - but they have a size limit. When a save or Lot grows too large (for example, due to extremely packed builds or complex saves), it could exceed that limit and cause corruption. We’re currently testing this theory using an intentionally overstuffed save file and have found that the Memory Boost feature has the ability to to help reduce the likelihood of overflow, therefore preventing this issue from occurring on some hardware configurations. Our investigations are ongoing in this area, but this discovery gives us a solid direction for potential fixes to issues related to corrupted Lots and disappearing houses in saves with lots of rental units. We've done some testing on saves where lots appear missing and found that sometimes loading that save with the Memory Boost feature enabled can cause them to appear again. Our investigations are ongoing in this area, but given that both hardware and software are involved, it means we need more time to investigate this thoroughly so that we can come up with a proper solution. However, we do feel we have a solid direction and you can help us speed this up by filling out the survey linked below. Error 801 and Scratch File Investigations We’re actively working to better understand the underlying causes of Error 801, which can cause the game to crash before loading. Our current testing suggests that multiple processes might be competing to finish at once, creating inconsistent results. Although we haven’t confirmed scratch file deletion as a direct cause of corruption, we’re taking extra precautions. To prevent conflicts with cloud backup services, scratch files are being moved from the Documents folder to AppData in a future update. This change is currently in internal review to ensure stability while we collaborate with other internal teams on scratch files and their interactions with The Sims 4. Other Areas of Focus: Overstuffed and Cheated Lots: We’re testing how Move Objects and heavily decorated or modded Lots from the Gallery behave when downloaded into new games. Our theory is that the game struggles to resolve certain cheat-related placements when those cheats aren’t enabled - possibly causing corruption in large, complex builds. Potential Corruption Via Gallery Downloads: In some cases, mod data has persisted inside a save file even after the mod was removed. This can happen with mods that add excessive Lot traits or custom scripts. We’re looking into whether this leftover data can also transfer through Gallery uploads, creating issues for players who don’t have those mods installed. Venue Data Carrying Across Saves: We found that in certain cases, data from one save can carry into a newly created save within the same session, creating a broken save right from the start. This behavior began in Lovestruck and isn’t linked to older reports of corruption, but it helps us understand how different systems can unintentionally interact. Our Next Steps: Missing Lot Data Survey We’re looking to gather more information from anyone who’s experienced issues around missing Lot data, and we’ve set up a quick survey to gather information like Memory Boost interactions with previously broken saves, DXdiags, and any mods you have installed, as we think this may be critical to our ongoing investigation into these issues. We continue to investigate the issues discussed in this article, and look forward to gathering even more useful information from you via the survey linked above. Once again, your save data continue to be vital to this work - every file you share helps us identify new patterns and move closer to long-term fixes. Thank you for your patience and passion as we work to keep your Sims’ worlds safe, stable, and corruption-free. Thank you for reading, we’ll see you back here for our next monthly update in December.
