You'll soon be able to play The Sims 4 for free

pcgamer.com:

The Sims 4 is a financial monster of a game to get into, but it looks like EA is trying to make the entry point a little smoother. The publisher has just revealed(opens in new tab) that the base game is shedding its price tag and going free-to-play from October 18.

Hours before the official announcement word had already been going around—the game's Origin store page was already displaying a big ol' banner proclaiming «The Sims 4 will be free to play starting October 18.» Instant Gaming(opens in new tab) also managed to get its hands on two screenshots advertising that the base game was free, which have been circulating on Twitter for most of the day.

It's worth emphasising that it is just the base game that's becoming free—something that has pretty regularly gone on sale for around $5 to $10 for the last few years now and received a permanent price cut back in April. The main moneymaker continues to lie in The Sims 4's countless expansion packs, but this is also the first time I can recall that EA has made any of its Sims games free while it was still current. Those who've already given their cold hard cash away for the base game will receive the Desert Luxe Kit for free which is a nice touch, but if you already own that too then you won't be entitled to any additional goodies. That's valid up until October 17, so if for any reason you feel spurred to buy the base game, now's the time to do it.

More players! More stories! More ways to chaos! ✨The Sims 4 will be FREE to download across PC/Mac & Consoles on October 18! More updates to follow during a special Behind The Sims Summit stream: https://t.co/89B3MDdeek pic.twitter.com/W4Gjg3xl75September 14, 2022

I can't help but speculate on why EA is actually doing this,