The Sims 4 now has over a decade's worth of content under its belt, and the entry in the long-running life sim franchise has no signs of slowing down. Over the years, The Sims 4 has brought life sim lovers plenty of expansions, both free and paid, and players got a big surprise earlier this month.

On April 2, The Sims 4 dropped a surprise free update that added a variety of new items and character customization options. Pride-themed knee socks, face paint, tattoos, wall decorations, and clothing items rounded out the content update, adding the cherry on top to a year already filled with fun content from the franchise. This update was a pleasant surprise, but it also seems like a calculated effort to draw attention away from its brand-new competitor, InZOI.

yellowjackets fan created characters in the sims 4
Yellowjackets Characters Recreated in The Sims 4

A fan of the Showtime series Yellowjackets spent a painstaking amount of time recreating characters from the thriller in The Sims 4.

1
By 

The Sims 4 Has Some Major Competition On its Hands With InZOI

InZOI Has Made Waves in the Life Sim Community

Once InZOI hit the scene on March 28, 2025, The Sims 4 released its April 2 update just a few days later. Of course, this could simply be a mere coincidence, but considering InZOI is the biggest competition The Sims franchise has seen, the surprise update feels far more calculated. While The Sims 4 has the benefit of a full decade of content that proves it has what it takes to have further longevity, InZOI makes some notable tweaks to The Sims formula that make it stand out.

It has been confirmed that InZOI will eventually have mod support.

InZOI Has Some Major Differences From The Sims 4

  • Photorealistic graphics
  • Vehicles
  • AI-powered customization tools
  • No loading screens

While InZOI and The Sims 4 are both built on the mission of wanting to offer players a satisfying life sim experience, the former has a much deeper focus on realism. The Sims 4, and the previous entries in the franchise, are far more cartoonish and stylized. Of course, this gives the series its own unique identity, but a lot of life sim fans have been quite excited about the realism of InZOI. The inclusion of features like vehicles and deeper customization have made InZOI a life sim game worth keeping an eye on, and it seems as though The Sims 4 is working to make sure it has plenty of content.

February 4, 2025, marked the 25th anniversary of The Sims franchise. Ahead of the anniversary, The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 were released for Windows 10 and 11 on January 31.

The Sims 4 Has More Updates On the Way

When The Sims 4 announced the surprise update at the beginning of the month, the official tweet claimed that there are more free updates planned for this year. The Sims 4 boasts an impressive history, and there are bound to be plenty of players who stay on board with the game, but InZOI is definitely a compelling approach to the genre.

If The Sims 4's future free updates are strong content offerings, then it will likely keep the attention of players, but it needs to make sure that extra items and customization options are exciting enough. There is still plenty to discover in The Sims 4, and that's a major benefit the game has, but InZOI's newness and potential must be a little bit nerve-wracking for EA.

Of course, only time will tell if The Sims 4's free updates will be enough to go up against the hype surrounding InZOI. With the latter being in early access, there is still more to look forward to, and it will be fascinating to see if The Sims 4 continues to drop surprise updates around the same time InZOI does.

Rating block community and brand ratings Image
The Sims 4 Tag Page Cover Art
7 /10

The Sims 4

Display card tags widget
Simulation
Display card system widget
Systems
PC-1 PlayStation-1 Xbox-1
Display card community and brand rating widget Display card open critics widget
Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
Display card main info widget
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
Display card main info widget end Display card media widget start Display card media widget end

WHERE TO PLAY

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

Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless

Genre(s)
Simulation