Every few months, the developers behind the Sims 4 unveil a survey filled with potential Expansion Pack ideas, but this time around, Simmers are fed up with a recurring expansion pack trend.
In previous Sims games, Expansion Packs served as the biggest DLC you could purchase, and each pack offered a plethora of activities that were all themed around a central idea. As the Sims 4 celebrates its 11th year and is rapidly encroaching on 100 DLC packs, Simmers are starting to realize just how much modern content EA is chopping up.
The survey was shared on a Reddit thread and showcased the seven different Expansion Pack ideas the developers are currently brainstorming. These include Ocean Exploration, Community Careers, Reality TV, Suburban Living, and three car-themed packs that would allow players to live in vans, work on cars as a hobby, and even operate food trucks.
After looking through each idea, Simmers on the thread weren’t too pleased with the options available. More specifically, players have started to think that content usually sold in one pack is getting split up and sold separately. “Car life, work on wheels, suburban living, and van life should be one pack honestly.” One Simmer shared their opinion about the abundance of car-themed options in the survey and hopes that EA will combine these ideas into just one pack.
The Sims 4 famously launched without many features, including cars, and still uses loading screens whenever your sims visit a new area in the game. Since loading screens and wait times are baked into the core mechanics and programming of the game, this player isn’t so sure that having three packs all themed around cars is such a good idea.
The survey also features an Ocean Exploration option, eerily similar to the Island Paradise Expansion Pack introduced in The Sims 3. While recreating older content in a modern game isn’t a crime, fans wonder why ocean exploration gameplay didn’t come in the Island Living Expansion pack released years ago. “Ocean exploration should have been with Sulani,” This player said, referencing the world of Sulani that came with Island Living.
This isn’t the first time the Sims 4 has split content into multiple packs. For example, the For Rent and City Living Expansions both add apartments. The Sims 3’s pet-themed DLC added dogs, cats, horses, and other small critters, which are split among three packs in The Sims 4. It looks like Simmers are finally waking up to EA’s tactics, as one player commented, “Most of these should already be a part of existing packs.”
Other options on the survey have left players plain confused. For example, a pack centered on Suburban Living feels redundant to most Simmers, considering the entire point of the base game is to live in a suburb. This also applies to community careers, as the first expansion pack ever released for The Sims 4 was all about getting to work.
To make matters worse, the developers have consistently avoided the community’s most requested packs. For example, Simmers have been wishing for the ability to visit or run a hotel for years. This has already existed in previous iterations of the series, but it’s been strangely overlooked every time a survey comes around.
While nothing is certain, perhaps the game’s endless lifespan is making it challenging for the developers to come up with fresh ideas. After all, most of the series’ popular expansions have already been broadly covered, making it difficult for developers to come up with packs that don’t tread or even include content already available in the game.
No matter the reason, it’s clear that The Sims 4 already has a track record of watering down and splitting up expansion content. Do you think these survey choices are compelling options, or are you hopeful for different expansions?
Published: Feb 25, 2025 03:33 am