How to fix stuck on loading screen in The Sims 4

A big part of The Sims 4‘s lasting appeal is its constant stream of updates and expansions, but these new content drops can often bring trouble. Case in point: The locked-up loading screens facing droves of Sims players in the wake of The Sims 4: Lovestruck.

It’s beyond frustrating to log in with hopes of playing the new expansion pack only to be stuck battling an infinite loading screen. Sims 4 veterans might even be familiar with this particular glitch from previous major updates in the long-standing game’s lifespan, but the good part is this means there are quite a few ways to get around the issue.

How do you get past a stuck loading screen in The Sims 4: Lovestruck?

Infinite loading screens in The Sims 4: Lovestruck are most often caused by outdated mods. If you’re using mods or CC (the line is getting increasingly blurrier) on your save game, this is likely what’s causing your error today.

Mods created for an older version of The Sims 4 typically won’t be compatible with newer versions of the game, meaning the simplest fix will be either to disable your mods altogether—which could get messy if your save heavily relies on them—or wait until your mods are updated to be compatible with the latest version of the game. This shouldn’t take too long at least; Sims 4‘s modding community can be scarily dedicated.

If this still doesn’t work, there are a host of other troubleshooting tips you can try out. Starting your game while offline has had success, presumably because it keeps your copy from being scanned by EA’s servers. You can also initiate a repair through the Origin client to automatically sweep for missing or corrupted files.

If all else fails, you’ll probably just have to resign yourself to playing The Sims 4 vanilla until your mods update. Luckily, Lovestruck has more than enough content to soothe worries, from axolotls to seedy motels to blind dates.