The Sims' 25th anniversary is here, and EA Maxis is celebrating with fans with events, updates, rereleases, and new paid content. The birthday celebrations began on January 16, with events planned at least until the end of February 2025. A quarter of a century is a massive milestone for a gaming franchise. Many Simmers today began playing when the world and technology looked very different, and yetThe Simsformed a positive and formative part of their lives that many look back on fondly.
The Sims' 25th anniversary is a chance to look backon those years and celebrate the progressThe Simsand its players have made. In contrast to its previous big anniversary milestone,The Simsis celebrating across its various properties, and evenThe Sims FreePlayis having an anniversary event and update. The 25th anniversary celebration forThe Simsis a big upgrade from the repurposed hot tub, and is something worth celebrating.
The Sims' 25th Anniversary Events
The Sims' 25th anniversarystands in contrast to its last big milestone in 2020, which was the 20th anniversary ofThe Sims1’s launch. Because it was such a significant milestone, many Simmers had expected a celebration of the event from EA. Instead, the only acknowledgment of the 20th anniversary was a free hot tub for all players, which was a reskin of an object that had been included in the Perfect Patio Stuff Pack that had been released in 2015.
With such a lackluster celebration for the previous anniversary, many Simmers weren’t expecting anything significant for the 25th anniversary. However, there was a happy surprise ahead for players as EA dropped a roadmap detailing several noteworthy events, content updates, and releases to celebrate. With the theme of nostalgia,The Sims' 25th Birthday Special includes special items forThe Sims 4, but also takes time to rememberThe Simsof the 2000s, an era that has a special place in many players' hearts.
New The Sims 4 Kits Released
The week of January 16 marked the first week of the anniversary celebrations and saw the release of three kits:Comfy Gamer Kit,Secret Sanctuary Kit, andCasanova Cave Kit. The Secret Sanctuary Kit andCasanova Cave Kitare based onThe Simsclassic characters Bella Goth and Don Lothario respectively, and are something of a homage to the two characters, with CAS and decor items based heavily on their lore, aesthetic, and appearance.January 30 saw the release of two moreThe Sims 4kits, this time created by two CC creators from the player community,Refined Living Room Kitby Pierisim, andBusiness Chicby Madlen.
Bringing Back The Sims 1 and The Sims 2
Many Simmers have been playingThe Simssince its original release a quarter of a century ago, and remember the original games fondly. Unfortunately, gettingThe Sims 1andThe Sims 2to run on modern PCs can be incredibly tricky, withThe Sims 2working with mods and editing the program files, andThe Sims 1refusing to work at all. As a special throwback duringThe SimsBirthday Special’s Nostalgia Now week,EA rereleased bothThe Sims 1andThe Sims 2alongside all of their content packs, excludingThe Sims 2: Ikea Stufffor licensing reasons. Both games have been optimized for Windows 10/11, which means the fixes that were needed forThe Sims 2 Ultimate Collectionare not needed, andThe Sims 1will be able to run as intended.
Other bugs and graphical issues, such asThe Sims 2’s notorious pink soup and shadow glitches, as well as the more common crashes have been fixed. WhileThe Sims 2has been available for free on Origin since 2014, it required some technical knowledge to launch and work properly, and many players have been happy to pay to be able to playThe Sims 2without mods or altering the game’s files.
Manyplayers who once playedThe Sims 1andThe Sims 2over twenty years ago, as teenagers or children, now get to have a blast to the past and rediscover those long days playingThe Simson the family computer. Many other players who were too young to playThe Sims 1andThe Sims 2, and have only heard of them from older players, will now get to play these games as well. Overall, making these games more accessible is a good thing, and aligns perfectly with the anniversary’s theme of nostalgia.
The 25th Birthday Celebration on February 4
The 25-Hour Livestream
February 4 is the official 25th anniversary ofThe Sims 1, and the biggest day of celebrations. EA will be hosting a 25-hour livestream featuring celebrities,Simmers who have popular YouTube channels, and players in the community.
Announced guests for the livestream include:
The Sims 4In-Game Event Begins
The Sims 4began events in 2024. Events are similar to Scenarios, but run according to a certain theme, require players to log in every day and achieve the requirements, and are rewarded, usually with a unique object. Skipping a day or the event entirely means missing out on those rewards, makingEvents controversial inThe Sims 4community, as the rewards are often worthwhile, but getting them can be unfair.
The Blast From the Past Event is all about 2000s nostalgia, with the teased rewards being objects from earliergames inThe Simsseries. Prominent objects include the buffet table, dance floor, landline phones, inflatable couches, and the black dress fromThe Sims 2. Milk cartons, which were prominent in Bella Goth’s missing person’s case, feature as collectibles. Players need to participate in Live Mode and play every day of the event to get all of the rewards.
The Sims Future Updates and Other Events
The Sims 4Free Content
Also dropping on February 4 is amassive content update toThe Sims 4. This update will bring 70+ new in-game items to all players, across Create-a-Sim and Build Mode. Several hairstyles will be updated, there will be new swatches added to kitchen cabinets, and new windows and doors will be included in the update.
The Sims FreePlayEvents
The Sims FreePlaywill also have an event starting February 4.The Sims FreePlay2000 will let players participate in special events to unlock new items iconic to the 2000s. In-game gifts will be included, and promises to include some of the mosticonic items fromThe Simsin the 2000s. March will bring a major lighting update toThe Sims FreePlay, so that players can adjust the natural light that shines in their homes, from bright natural sun to the warm glow of a fireplace.
Motherlode Season
Motherlode Season is supposed to start on February 6. While details haven’t been revealed, it’s likely linked toThe Sims 4’s next expansion pack theme, as motherlode has been the cheat code to add to household funds sinceThe Sims 2. With the nextThe Sims 4expansion pack leaked, players could expect to get details about the next expansion pack when Motherlode Season begins.
