If Windows Defender flagged your Sims 4 launcher as a Trojan after the July 21 patch, EA has now pushed a targeted fix. A Windows-only hotfix is rolling out today (July 23) that resolves the digital signature issue on TS4 Launcher x64.exe, which caused the false virus warnings.
What happened
The July 21 update for The Sims 4 shipped with a missing or broken digital signature on the Windows launcher executable. Without that signature, Windows Defender treated the file as suspicious and flagged it as a Trojan, preventing the game from launching for many PC players. The issue was reported widely on the EA forums and across community spaces. We covered the original problem earlier today.
What the hotfix does
According to an EA Community Manager, the fix is narrow in scope: it only updates the launcher's digital signature so Windows recognizes the file as legitimate again. Your game version number stays the same as the July 21 patch, and the hotfix does not touch any gameplay files.
That means your mods and CC are completely unaffected. No need to pull your Mods folder or re-test anything.
What you need to do
- Already updated on July 21: You will receive a small additional download today that fixes the launcher. After that, the false Trojan warning should be gone.
- Haven't updated yet: You will get a single combined update that includes both the July 21 patch content and the signature fix. No extra steps needed.
If you previously added an exclusion in Windows Defender to get around the warning, you can safely remove it once you confirm the hotfix has downloaded.
Mac and console players
This hotfix is Windows-only. If you play on Mac or console, the July 21 patch was unaffected by this issue, and no action is needed on your end.
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Source: Sims Community