Create a Sim and emotions
The Sims 4 replaced sliders with direct manipulation in Create a Sim, letting players click and drag facial and body features to shape their Sims. Alongside the visual overhaul, the game introduced an emotion system that affects how Sims behave, interact, and perform at work. Emotions shift based on relationships, surroundings, and recent events, and they open up context-specific actions and social interactions.
Build Mode
Build Mode introduced the ability to move and duplicate entire rooms, a first for the series. Players can pick up a fully furnished room and reposition it on the lot or copy it outright. The Sims 4 also added three wall-height settings, giving builders more vertical variety than any previous entry. For a walkthrough of every core tool, see The Sims 4 build mode: a guide to every core building tool.
Worlds
The base game ships with two worlds: Willow Creek, a neighborhood with a southern United States feel, and Oasis Springs, a desert town. A third world, Newcrest, was added as a free update in 2015. Newcrest arrived as a blank canvas of empty lots for players to build on from scratch.
Free updates and platform availability
Maxis has patched the base game regularly since 2014, adding features that were absent at launch including swimming pools, the toddler life stage, terrain manipulation tools, and a first-person camera mode. On October 18, 2022, EA made the base game free to download, attracting over 31 million new players. It is available on the EA App for Windows and Mac, Steam, Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
The Sims 4 also includes the Gallery, a built-in sharing platform where players can browse, download, and comment on Sims, homes, and rooms uploaded by other community members. For the latest base game patch changes, see coverage like Sims 4 patch cuts notification spam and reins in the Grim Reaper.