The Sims 4 base game is going free to play in October

EA and developers Maxis have revealed today that The Sims 4 will be going free to play from October 18th. You’ll be able to grab it on Steam, Origin or the EA app. There had been rumours circulating online earlier today that an announcement was incoming from EA on this, and those were evidently legit. More information on the future of The Sims will be coming on October 18th too, EA said, at an event dubbed the Behind The Sims Summit.

Be aware, though, that this will just be the base game. I’ve got it on good authority that it’s perfectly playable, but there’s so many expansion pack shenanigans for The Sims 4 – ranging from werewolves to high school drama just this year alone – that you could end up down a very deep rabbithole indeed. If you want to navigate all the extraneous Sims add-ons then you couldn’t go wrong by checking out our resident expert Rebecca’s guide to the best The Sims 4 expansion packs.

EA and Maxis say they’ll continue to support The Sims 4 with “packs, kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future”. Anyone who owns the base game for The Sims 4 on Origin, the EA app or participating digital storefronts will be given the Desert Luxe kit as a gift between September 14th and October 17th, which you can check out the details for here. In other Sims-related news, yesterday saw an update for The Sims 4 called Groundhog Day, which should make getting older more reliable, among other fixes. You can read the full patch notes here.

Rebecca took The Sims 4’s werewolves expansion for a moonlit stroll with her Sim pal Scott when it released in June, and thought it was the best supernatural add-on for the game yet. “One of my biggest issues with The Sims 4 until recently was the lack of interactivity between add-ons,” she said, “so it was lovely to see that Scott not only recognised other supernatural Sims by their scent, but had a unique moodlet documenting his reaction to each one. Getting his groceries delivered by a vampire made him immensely angry, while meeting a mermaid at the local bar rendered him dazed.”

The Sims 4, available on Steam and Origin, goes free to play for PC and consoles on October 18th. Remember though: it’s just the base game. I’ve already lost too many people to The Sims expansion packs, I don’t want to lose you too.