The Sims 4 Base Game Is Going To Be Free (Forever!)

A new announcement has revealed The Sims 4 will soon become free to purchase for the foreseeable future. The extremely popular title released in 2014, and since then there has been a slew of DLC released for The Sims 4in various sizes. While new players will still have to pay for any of these add-ons for the game, they will be able to begin their Sims 4 journey for free in the near future.

The Sims 4 released eight years ago at a price point of $59.99, and since then has sold over 36 million copies, making it the best-selling game in the franchise. Over time the price has decreased, currently landing at $19.99. While the general concept for the game aligns with that of previous Sims titles, the game offers what most players consider to be both an improved Build Mode and Create A Sim features as well as a more cartoonish visual style that many prefer. Over time, the game has made several different sizes of DLC available for purchase, from the largest Expansion Packs to the smallest and most recent and addition Kits, with two Kits confirmed to release for The Sims 4 just this month.

An announcement by The Sims on Twitter this week has revealed The Sims 4 will soon be free to download and keep. The game is set to become free next month on October 18, and will remain free forever. Players who have already purchased the game at any price point over the years will receive a free copy of the game’s most recent kit, The Sims 4 Desert Luxe Kit, which focuses on Southwestern-inspired furniture.

The Sims 4 Becoming Free Will Help Broaden The Game’s Community

There’s no doubt that some long-time Sims 4 players who paid full price for the game at any point in time may feel disappointed that they’ll only receive a DLC worth $5. However, eight years after release, the game’s active community is a large part of what helps keep the game fun and engaging for many fans. When Sims 4 players share their creations and builds or gameplay stories online, they help inspire other players to try things they haven’t before in the game, and the game becoming free will widen the important community to players who have held back on getting the game due to price.

The Sims 4 base game becoming free will likely bring new players to the franchise, ushering in a whole new group of creative minds that will help keep the game exciting, whether that means sharing builds, creating mods and custom content, or simply sharing funny in-game moments. The game becoming free is an overall net positive for the community, although a single Kit feels like a very small amount of compensation for purchasing the game previously, particularly because many Sims 4 players don’t like Kits to begin with. However, a new set of players bringing their ideas into the Sims 4 creative community will undoubtedly bring a lot of new fun to the game.

Source: The Sims/Twitter