The Sims 4 has been around for over a decade, and it's received hundreds of updates and patches over the years. However, it has also received dozens of gygabites worth of DLC packs, which may cause errors and crash the game. On top of this, it is a game that is usually heavily modded by its players, which could have the same result.

the sims 4 using computer
How to Set Up Memory Boost in The Sims 4

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Most players will have to deal with their game crashing or freezing sooner or later. Since The Sims 4 does not have an auto-save feature, players will find themselves worrying for all of the progress that they might have made, especially if it was a lengthy session.

How to Save When The Sims 4 Freezes

the sims 4 force save

Almost every Sims players has experienced a loading screen or loading wheel that makes them question how long it's been since they last saved their game. Sometimes the game will end up loading, and they can quickly open the menu and save. However, most of the time, the game will either crash or freeze indefinitely.

Many players aren't aware of this, but they can actually save the game when it freezes. To save The Sims 4 while its stuck, players have to press Alt + F4. This forces the game to quit, bringing up the Save menu to ask players if they want to save before exiting. Some players may be unable to open this menu simply by pressing Alt + F4, in that case they should also hold down Fn.

Alternatively, players can also force the Save menu to appear by right clicking on The Sims 4 icon on the taskbar and pressing Close Window.

How to Prevent Freezing and Crashing in The Sims 4

the sims 4 repair game

Ideally, gamers wouldn't have to deal with any freezing or crashing when playing The Sims 4. Thankfully, there are some ways to prevent it from happening so frequently. There are various reasons why The Sims 4 could be having issues and freezing; here is what could be causing this issue and how to avoid it:

  • Corrupt game files: It is possible that some of the game files could be corrupt, due to being moved or a recent update. To solve this issue, players have to open the EA App, select The Sims 4, click Manage and then Repair. This will go over the base game and expansion packs files and repair them one by one.
  • Corrupted cache data: The Sims 4 stores some information in the cache so it is able to load faster. Updating and changing mods could corrupt it. Players should delete their Sims 4 cache every now and then to prevent this from happening. They can delete their Sims 4 cache by opening the Electronic Arts tab on their computer, entering the The Sims 4 tab, and then deleting a file called "localthumbcache.package".
  • Outdated or corrupted mod files: Players should update their mods whenever there is a new patch for The Sims 4. Not doing so could lead to issues with the game.
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The Sims 4 Tag Page Cover Art
7 /10

The Sims 4

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Simulation
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Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
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Released
September 2, 2014
ESRB
T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
Developer(s)
Maxis
Publisher(s)
Electronic Arts
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
Checkbox: control the expandable behavior of the extra info

Cross-Platform Play
Xbox, PlayStation, and computer versions of Sims 4 are all separate games incompatible with each other
Cross Save
no
Franchise
The Sims
Steam Deck Compatibility
yes
Genre(s)
Simulation
Platform(s)
PS4, Xbox One, PC
OpenCritic Rating
Fair
How Long To Beat
N/A
X|S Optimized
No
File Size Xbox Series
22 GB (November 2023)