Summary
- A new update for The Sims 4 focuses on Businesses & Hobbies fixes issues with customer interactions and class resets.
- The patch also addresses burglars stealing unretrievable items like toilet stalls in small businesses.
- Additional quality of life fixes are also included in the update.
The Sims 4 has received a new update that should make its Businesses and Hobbies expansion pack run a lot more smoothly for players. While the latest update to The Sims 4 has some bug fixes for the base game and past expansions, the majority of the attention has been given to the new pack.
Running a small business in The Sims 4 is the central theme of the Businesses & Hobbies expansion, which was released on March 6, 2025. There are a wide variety of activities that Sims can participate in to earn money, with the new tattooing, pottery, and mentorship features also included in the pack providing just a few of the options players can build their shops and services around.
The Sims 4: 10 Packs With The Best Integration For Businesses & Hobbies
Several Sims 4 packs combine well with the Businesses & Hobbies expansion, but these particular ones are easily among the best.
The new patch, released on March 20, 2025, covers a lot of different aspects of running a business. Some of the simpler fixes include ensuring that the names of purchased businesses are displayed correctly, displaying the number of servings when selling food, and making the employee section on the Career Panel minimizes correctly. Also, Ghosts in The Sims 4 will no longer automatically show up as customers, though if a player wants to continue seeing them there, they can adjust the setting under the Occult Target Customer options.
There are also some fixes to Sims 4 classes and masteries included in the new update. One problem with the Hobby Whiteboard has been resolved, which will no longer allow the lessons taught by employees to be unintentionally erased when a player saves or loads the game or travels to a different area with the selected Sim. Additionally, the Skillful Sleep Skill Mastery Perk, which generates a ghostly version of a Sim and has them use items to build up skills while the actual Sim rests, has been adjusted to force the ethereal body double to have a better focus on skill building.
The new update also addresses a major problem with burglars in The Sims 4. Prior to the patch, some burglars invading small businesses had been walking away with certain items that players had no way of adding back into household inventories, including toilet stalls. The new patch should prevent these unfortunate instances from happening in the future. And while burglary will still be an issue that business-owning Sims have to deal with, the patch should prevent normal customers and patrons from walking through the front door after a business' scheduled closing time or watering the plants.
The Sims 4 Quality of Life Fixes for Businesses and Hobbies Patch Notes
Base Game / Multipack
- Sims will now be paid hourly based on their Skill Level for offering Paid Mentoring, regardless of which packs you own.
- The locked camera position has been removed from the Bracelet category of Accessories in Create a Sim, now you can zoom in and out with ease.
- We have advised the Burglar to avoid stealing certain objects which can't be added back into household inventories. Your toilet stalls (and more) are now safe from being irretrievably stolen.
Cats & Dogs / Horse Ranch
- The buttons to change position in Pelt Paint Mode for Cats, Dogs, and Horses are back. Your Pets can again strike a pose while you paint their harder-to-reach spots.
Businesses & Hobbies
- Customer Sims will now water any plants which need watering when the "Tend Garden" or "Tend and Harvest Garden" Business Activities are set, even those which are placed in planters.
- Employees will no longer remove paintings which are displayed on walls when the “Scrap Crafts” Employee Task is set.
- Ghosts will no longer attend Small Businesses unless they are set as Preferred or Required customers under the Occult Target Customer category.
- Fixed an issue where Group Meals were being listed for sale at the same price as Single Meals. The price for selling food on Retail Displays will now reflect the number of servings.
- The projections created by the "Skillful Sleep" Skill Mastery Perk have been instructed to get back to work building skills on appropriate objects.
- Fixed an issue where Classes set for employees on the Hobby Whiteboard were being reset after traveling, saving, or loading.
- Sims will no longer be able to enter a Small Business lot after closing time. They don't have to go home, but they can't stay here.
- Adjusted the cost to prepare and sell prices of some Candy Recipes to make them more profitable for sale on Retail Displays in Small Businesses.
- Tattoos that contain Custom Content now have the 'Modded' indicator in the in-game Gallery to prevent confusion.
- Pack Settings are now available for players who own only Base Game and Businesses & Hobbies, allowing you to Enable or Disable Small Business Events.
- Notifications about Inaccessible Ticket Kiosks will no longer trigger on lots which aren't assigned to the Small Business.
- Creating a Preset Small Business when buying a Small Business Venue will now show the correct Small Business name in all notifications.
- Fixed an issue where the Employee section of the Career Panel did not shrink down correctly when minimized.
- The source of the unexplained glowing lights around Nordhaven Train Station has been identified and contained.
- Fixed an issue with the Mikro's Ribbon Mic microphone stand disappearing when zooming out.
- Resolved an issue with a pair of trousers (ymBottom_EP18Chain) expanding in unexpected areas when the stomach body slider was adjusted.
The Sims 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
- Cross-Platform Play
- Xbox, PlayStation, and computer versions of Sims 4 are all separate games incompatible with each other
- Cross Save
- no
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
