‘The Sims 4’ will be free to play starting next month

engadget.com:

Almost exactly eight years after first arriving on PC, The Sims 4 is going free to play. Starting on October 18th, publisher EA won't charge you anything to download the base game on Mac, PC, PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X. If you already paid for the original release or decide to buy it before October 17th, the company will gift you the upcoming Desert Luxe Kit. The DLC comes with a handful of southwestern desert-themed furniture items.

Note that EA has released 12 expansions for The Sims 4, and if you decide to play the game for free, you’ll be missing out on a lot of the features that make the game feel so compelling in 2022. For instance, without the Cats & Dogs DLC installed, your sims can’t get a feline or canine companion.

As for what today’s news means for the game’s future, EA says developer Maxis is “more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful experiences for players, and will continue to develop and release packs, kits, and Sims delivery express drops into the foreseeable future.” On that note, the two will host a YouTube and Twitch livestream on October 18th to share what’s next for the franchise.