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The next Sims game is a cross-platform title dubbed 'Project Rene'
Developer Maxis also shed some light on what's coming to 'The Sims 4' and its mobile games.
‘The Sims 4’ will be free to play starting next month
Almost exactly eight years after first arriving on PC, The Sims 4 is going free to play.
'The Sims 4' will let players change their characters' sexual orientation
Maxis is working to add non-binary options.
'The Sims 4' players can now customize their characters' pronouns
EA and Maxis say it's a step toward making the game more inclusive.
12 Sims players will compete for $100,000 on a TBS game show
'The Sims Spark'd' will premiere on July 17th.
After Math: Take a mental health break from this crisis with these games
It’s been a bonkers week. So if you feel the need to take a breather from this hellscape reality before diving back into the political fray (or even doomscrolling through Twitter again), this week’s headlines have your back.
You can finally play Maxis' long-lost 'SimRefinery' oil simulator
Thanks to an article published by Ars Technica reporter Sam Machkovech, a piece of video game history has been recovered for all to play.
'The Sims 4' will stop supporting 32-bit PCs in June
We hope you weren't determined to run The Sims 4 on the same PC you had when it came out in 2014. The developers have warned that the life simulator will end support for 32-bit operating systems and non-Metal Macs in June 2019. Simply put, it's about "growing, improving and optimizing the game." And for Mac users, it's virtually necessary. Apple started deprecating OpenGL visuals as of macOS Mojave, and Metal is the only way EA can guarantee cutting-edge performance and features going forward.
'The Sims 4' will get weird on consoles November 17th
After an eight year absence, The Sims is coming back to consoles in a very big way. Come November 17th you'll be able to control a virtual society from the couch in The Sims 4 with what sounds the best console installment of the 17 year-old social sandbox series.
There's a new boss in charge of 'Mass Effect' and 'Dragon Age'
Electronic Arts is changing. Many of the massive publisher-developer's myriad studios will now be assembled under one figurative roof at EA Worldwide Studios. Describing the change, EA CEO and part-time Mirror's Edge villain Andrew Wilson says it "will bring together our top creative talent in all of our great studios to work on EA's powerful brand portfolio and new IP [intellectual property]."
'The Sims 4' heads to the city with its latest expansion
As much as The Sims 4 has done to expand its cultural boundaries over time, it has always been set in the suburbs -- you know, that bastion of conformity and homogeneity. What about the city, where experiences tend to be more diverse? Enter City Living, a new paid add-on for the game that (surprise!) takes place in an urban landscape. You can live in or visit four distinct neighborhoods in San Myshuno, and broaden your horizons by attending street festivals or crooning at the local karaoke bar. At first glance, it's a more varied experience -- both culturally and in terms of gameplay.
'Sims 4' removes gender barriers in Create a Sim
The Sims franchise is all about customization. The city-building games feature wild objects, buildings, people and professions that can be combined in all manner of ridiculous ways, from blue-skinned rocket scientists with a deep love of cacti to museum curators who enjoy a good naked walk around fine art displays. Personal choice is the joy of the game. That's one reason it was strange to have customization options in The Sims 4 that were exclusive to either gender. Female characters couldn't use the clothes, hairstyles, physiques and voice options that were designated for men, and vice versa. That is, until today.
EA shuts down the studio behind 'SimCity'
The studio that created SimCity and The Sims is no more. Today, EA confirmed that it will shut down Maxis Emeryville, displacing the folks primarily responsible for the aforementioned titles. In a statement, EA said that it'll relocate Maxis' development to its other offices in Redwood Shores, California; Salt Lake City; Helsinki; and Melbourne, Australia. The company plans to move forward with projects already in the works, including an expansion pack for The Sims 4 and ongoing support for the existing The Sims and SimCity faithful. Those two are massively popular PC titles, and the latter finally arrived on Mac in 2013 with players everywhere encountering a truckload of launch issues.
Spend 48 hours torturing loved ones for free in The Sims 4
- EA's latest addition to its Origin Game Time vault is The Sims 4, meaning you can download it now and enjoy a free 48 hours of playing God. To do just that, get your godly ass to Origin. Those 48 hours are real-time rather than in-game, so unless you're planning an unadvised binge you won't get the full two days of free-ness. You can start the free time whenever you want, however, as the 48-hour countdown only begins after you launch the game for the first time. Also, if you later buy The Sims 4 then your Game Time progress does transfer over.
Sims 4 visits an Outdoor Retreat, jumps to Mac in February
Like all Sims entries, it's time for The Sims 4 to start spawning expansions, and the life simulation's first addition sees your virtual people taking a relaxing vacation in the pristine wilderness of Granite Falls. According to publisher EA, Sims can build camp, share ghost stories around the campfire and "uncover rare collectibles." You can find a full rundown of the new features found in the Outdoor Retreat expansion by visiting the developer's blog, or you can just buy it and check things out for yourself. Outdoor Retreat is now available from Origin for $20. While revealing the new expansion, EA also mentioned that The Sims 4 is coming to Mac. There's no specific release date nailed down just yet, but it should launch at some point in February. [Image: EA]
The Sims 4 update gets paid time off, adds holiday cheer
EA updated The Sims 4 this week, adding a significant amount of new content to the life simulation game. Your sims can now go after an athletic or business career like Hall of Famer or Business Tycoon and accrue paid time off for any of their occupations, plus they can take family leave from their jobs to celebrate new life entering their families. The developer also changed career objectives, cleaning out repetitive or overly specific goals and tweaking ones that were too difficult to complete. The update also introduces the free, downloadable Holiday Celebration Pack, which adds a wreath, snowman, holiday decorations and festive sweaters to the game. Additionally, sims are now able to eat the fruits and vegetables they harvest from gardening activities, and can also die at venues. EA also fixed a few game-crashing bugs and other issues, such as a crash that occurred when players tried placing roofs away from their lot. Head to The Sims 4's patch notes page to see the full list of changes. [Image: EA]
There's a swingin' game I know called SimCity 2000, and it's free
You can reticulate splines like it's 1995 by grabbing the truly classic SimCity 2000 for free, thanks to Origin. EA's PC portal is offering the normally $5 special edition as the latest On the House freebie, but only for a limited time. Once you download it, it's permanently yours to play whenever you want [insert always online gag here]. Everyone had their go-to names for SimCity 2000 creations. Mine were always hints at the egocentric, self-infatuated Sinan lurking beneath. Atrocities like Sinville, Sintown, and the incredibly culturally ignorant SinCity. For real. So, how did you christen your cities? Feel free to name and shame in the comments. [Image: EA]
'Accidental' drownings skyrocket as The Sims 4 adds pools
Making good on its earlier promises, developer Maxis has added much-requested swimming pools to virtual life sandbox The Sims 4. According to EA, the build options for pools have been greatly expanded, allowing players to build pools not just in the backyard, but also on the second and third floors of their virtual homes. The update also brings with it a new swimwear line so that your virtual people can look sharp as they lounge near the water. Eventually, all Sims players develop a sadistic streak and decide that maybe the Sim universe would be better off if their virtual people met a watery demise. The pool comes in handy there too, though EA notes that any ghosts created by drowning may carry a fear of water with them to the afterlife. It's unknown how this might affect a ghost's actions beyond the terrifying spectral neuroses seen in the above screenshot. [Image: EA]
Ghosts, pools, Darth Vader coming to The Sims 4
Hoping to appease fans upset that The Sims 4 lacks a number of features that have long been a standard of the series, publisher EA has outlined plans to add a host of new content to the virtual life simulation over the next few months. In the October update, The Sims 4 will receive costumes based on iconic Star Wars characters, as well as new ghostly forms for your deceased Sims. According to EA, these ghosts will behave much as they did prior to death, but the manner in which they died will grant the apparition wholly new behaviors. Those ghosts will come in handy once the November update arrives, as the mortality rate of your Sims is expected to skyrocket once pools are finally added to The Sims 4. Then, in December, EA and developer Maxis plan to introduce new career paths that are slightly less likely to result in your Sims drowning in the backyard. There's no word on when exactly these updates might be released, but they will each be free additions, requiring only that players log onto EA's Origin digital distribution service to download each update. [Image: EA]
'SimCity BuildIt' brings urban planning back to phones and tablets
SimCity hasn't been on mobile devices for a while -- the last title surfaced way back in 2010. You'll get another crack at metropolis building pretty soon, though, as EA has quietly teased SimCity BuildIt for Android devices, iPhones and iPads. Details are scarce right now, but it's already apparent that this will be a big, big visual upgrade over the last incarnation; you'll see 3D graphics that more closely resemble SimCity's recent reboot than a cut-down phone release. We've reached out to EA for a launch date and more info on the game mechanics. However BuildIt works, we're just hoping that it fares a lot better than its desktop counterpart.
