Electronic Arts has claimed that The Sims 4 “now reaches more than 70 million players around the world”.
That makes the 2014 release the most widely played game in the 23-year history of the life simulation franchise.
According to EA, the latest entry in the series has attracted more than 16 million new players since the base game went free-to-play in October 2022, and average weekly users have increased 53 percent.
The Sims 4 Growing Together: Official Gameplay Trailer
The game’s latest premium expansion pack, Growing Together, was released in March and had the biggest launch week sales of any pack since EA started releasing them in 2015, the company said.
“It’s incredible to see how much our community has grown over the past eight years, and our players continue to inspire us with the countless ways they explore life in The Sims 4,” said Phillip Ring, executive producer of The Sims 4.
““We know The Sims 4 continues to be a creative outlet for people, and our team strives to deliver new and innovative gameplay content that empowers our players to embrace the chaos that comes with self-discovery.”
The Sims 4 was originally released for PC in September 2014 before making its way to Mac in 2015, and to PS4 and Xbox One in 2017.
The game had generated over $1 billion in revenue as of February 2019 and been played by more than 33 million people as of February 2021, according to EA.
The company announced the next Sims game, which is codenamed ‘Project Rene’, last October.
The reveal included a brief look at some of the creation tools players will be able to use when they get their hands on the game, which is in early development at Maxis.
It will let users play solo or collaboratively, and the same experience will be available across all supported devices including mobile.
“We are building the next-generation Sims game and creative platform,” said Lyndsay Pearson, VP of franchise creative for The Sims. “Reimagining The Sims you know and love with new ways to play. This is the future of The Sims, built on a foundation of charming Sims, powerful tools, and meaningful stories.”
Pearson said EA will continue sharing work-in-progress updates “over the next couple of years” and “start to open up early access to Project Rene software to small groups over time”.
Paradox Interactive recently announced that its The Sims rival, Life by You, will be available in Early Access beginning in September.
The game is the debut title from Paradox Tectonic, a studio established in 2019 and headed by Rod Humble, the former boss of EA’s The Sims label and the ex-CEO of Second Life creator Linden Lab.
