gamerant.com The Sims 4 is Free to Play for Limited Time

On February 4 in the year 2000, legendary sim developer Maxis released its unique life sim The Sims, the first game in what would become an incredibly popular franchise. 22 years later and The Sims remains incredibly popular, with The Sims 4 support continuing as Electronic Arts rolls out DLC after DLC. There's always an opportunity to bring in new players of The Sims 4, though. That's why this weekend EA is making The Sims 4 available free to play on Steam.

The Sims 4 will have a free trial available from February 3 through February 7. It'll officially end Monday before noon, after which players will have to purchase The Sims 4 to continue playing. While it's called a free trial, it appears that the full game of The Sims 4 will be available to play once downloaded. There shouldn't be any limitations, other than the cutoff date on Monday.

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EA is making The Sims 4 free-to-play for the weekend on Steam as part of the franchise's 22nd anniversary. It's been 22 years since The Sims was released, with three main sequels between then and now. There have also been nine other The Sims titles, including The Sims Online, The Sims Life Stories, and most recently The Sims Mobile. The Sims 4 has been available since 2014 and was the last release of Maxis before EA "reorganized" the studio. Who is to say what's next for The Sims, but it's unlikely to ever be the same.

The Sims anniversary event goes beyond a weekend of free access to The Sims 4, of course. The Sims 4 is also discounted 88% on Steam, cutting the price to just $4.79. All of The Sims 4's expansions have also been discounted 50%, with The Sims 4's Game Packs and Stuff Packs discounted 30%. It's a great way for The Sims 4 players to catch up on content, or for new players to dive in.

Electronic Arts is also doing a fun celebration event with content creators through the weekend. The Sims 4 streamers and creators including Juno Birch, HeXtian, CottoneeSocks, DrGluon, and lilsimsie have all participated in EA's 22nd birthday weekend.

The Sims franchise is, admittedly, in a very weird place right now. The Sims 4 is over seven years old now, but is arguably as popular as ever. DLC continues to be incredibly lucrative for the franchise, even if it's becoming rarer and rarer. EA could be working on a sequel, but is that even what The Sims players want anymore? Odds are, The Sims has a long future ahead of it, whatever direction EA decides to take it in.

The Sims 4 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

MORE: How The Sims Console Versions Have Compared to PC Releases

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