The Sims 4’s new update could burn your house down

techradar.com:

The Sims 4 has a fire problem, as more and more users report random and uncontrollable infernos starting out of nowhere. 

These complaints began to surface when The Sims 4 went free to play after The Sims 5 was announced. These aren’t empty threats, either: many have found that entire rooms or houses have been burnt to a crisp, thanks to this bug. The repair costs are putting a real strain on many Simmers’ lives. 

It’s all gone quite dark, with some players saying goodbye to beloved sims after entire families were trapped in house fires. I’m sure this is not the start EA wanted in The Sims 4's new free to play chapter. 

At the center of all these house fires is the fear of fire trait. Introduced in the Wants and Fears update back in August, Sims now have a series of desires they’re aiming for but also deep-seated fears based on negative experiences. 

If a sim starts a fire accidentally or is burned while cooking, they can develop a fear of fire. The knock-on impact is that they become more likely to start fires by mistake. It’s a vicious circle, especially as the bug seems to turn fire-fearing sims into something just shy of pyromaniacs. Every time they engage with fire, it will cause the immediate vicinity to be engulfed in flames. This seems counterproductive to me, surely someone with a fear of fire would be extra careful not to start one. 

Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to be the case. Users have reported fires in the kitchen, garden, and even the bathroom(opens in new tab). Many people are forced to feed their sims salad and fruit to avoid the oven altogether. 

The Wants and Fears update has been causing trouble for a while now. But, the problem seems to be worsened by something in the Sims 4's free to play update-play.