Stuff Pack revival, Project Rene news, new roadmap, merch store, and so much more!

Today’s Behind The Sims broadcast was only 15 minutes long but they managed to pack a lot of exciting news into a small 15 minute time frame. Today’s broadcast was full of information about The Sims 4, The Sims Mobile, The Sims FreePlay, and, of course, Project Rene (aka The Sims 5). Let’s dive right in to everything that was covered in the livestream today!

Behind The Sims News Recap

The Sims 4

Today’s livestream had a lot of surprises in store for Sims 4 players. We can’t wait for all of the planned content to hit the game from now through December!

A New Stuff Pack: Home Chef Hustle!

Just when we thought stuff packs were dead and gone forever, they’ve received a surprise revival! EA now has a team in Europe dedicated solely to developing stuff packs so we really hope this means that stuff pack releases will pick up once again. Even though there have been some nice kits released recently, it’s pretty clear that the Sims fanbase is suffering from kit fatigue.

The next stuff pack for the game is called Home Chef Hustle and it’s inspired by European kitchens! European style appliances such as fridges that look like cabinets and dish drains over the sink will be introduced in this pack, as well as a brand new small appliance; the waffle maker! The waffle maker can do many different flavours of waffle. There will also be new ways to make money from cooking at home and new ways of cooking.

The Home Chef Hustle stuff pack will contain both Build/Buy and CAS assets. Players can expect the official reveal trailer this Thursday!

Base Game Cooking Updates

To go along with the Home Chef Hustle stuff pack, a base game update will make some much-needed changes to the game’s cooking system. The recipe list UI will be cleaned up and filters will be added so players can sort through the hundreds of recipes in the game more easily.

And if you love cupcakes but hate that gigantic cupcake machine, you’ll be happy to know that this base game update will free the cupcakes and allow you to bake them in a regular oven!

The Sims 4 Roadmap: Hustle and Bustle

New Expansion Pack!

Players were anticipating a new roadmap to be released shortly and today’s broadcast did not disappoint! The latest roadmap for the game is themed around “Hustle and Bustle” and revealed that there is going to be a new stuff pack (more than likely the Home Chef Hustle pack), and one “neighbourly” expansion pack before the end of December 2023!

While the roadmap in the broadcast just said “and more!”, the website mentions two new kits planned before the end of December, so players who enjoy the kits don’t need to worry about stuff packs replacing them. It looks like kits are here to stay, at least for now.

Project Rene (The Sims 5)

While the next generation Sims game is still in early development, fans have been receiving regular updates about the development process. It looks like plans for the game have evolved from early concepts to some more concrete plans about how content will be rolled out and how players will be able to access all of its features.

Free to Play

It was confirmed today that the next generation Sims game will be a free to play experience! There will be no subscription service for the game and no core game purchase requirement. If you’re worried this means a shift to pay-to-win energy mechanics, fear not! The Sims 5 is confirmed to not have any energy mechanics players have gotten used to seeing in free-to-play games.

The game will also receive regular free updates to the core game to keep the game fresh and new for all players, regardless of how much money they’ve spent on the game.

Not a Replacement for The Sims 4

Fans of The Sims 4 might be feeling uneasy about all this talk surrounding a next generation Sims game and for good reason! In the past, a new Sims game typically meant that the current Sims game was being phased out and eventually discontinued. This will not be the case with The Sims 5.

The Sims 4 and The Sims 5 are planned to coexist together for the foreseeable future. The next generation Sims game is not intended to replace the Sims game players already know and love. Content for both games will be rolled out simultaneously and support for both games will continue unhindered for years to come, still. EA has no plans of slowing down development for either game anytime soon.

Paid DLC for The Sims 5

With a free-to-play system that is not reliant on energy-based microtransactions, players are probably wondering how The Sims 5 plans to make its money. The answer is DLC packs. Much like past games, the next generation Sims game will get packs for players to expand their gameplay experience.

However, they plan to remove a lot of the barriers that currently exist with DLC packs. For example, traditionally if you wanted to play with weather at all in your game, you would have to buy a Seasons expansion pack. With the next generation Sims game, basic weather may be added as a free core game update, while extra features like winter sports would come in a seasonal activities pack.

The Sims Mobile

In The Sims Mobile news, festive updates and events are planned for the upcoming season!

Halloween

A Halloween themed update will be coming to the game soon, so keep an eye out for new Halloween themed goodies to add to your Sims’ wardrobes and homes!

100 Years of Hollywood

For players with a flair for extravagance, get ready for a Hollywood-themed update as well! Elegant, flashy clothes and furnishings will take you back to the classic Golden Age of Hollywood.

New Story

Story lovers will be happy to hear about a brand new story being added to the game that revolves around a garden gnome and a bickering couple so keep an eye out for that in your games! It looks to be a promising story to play through!

The Sims FreePlay

Get ready to be inspired with a Day of the Dead celebration and a new update that will turn your Sims’ lives into a pastel fantasy!

Day of the Dead

It’s time for a Day of the Dead party! Don festive Day of the Dead makeup and clothing, feast, drink, dance with friends and play music to get into the spirit of this traditional Mexican holiday!

Pastel Pastimes

It’s a bubblegum world for your Sims! The Pastel Pastimes update will bring a variety of colourful pastels and bubbly furniture to your Sims’ homes and lives so don’t miss out on that!

The Sims Merch Store Launch

The Sims has grown so much as a franchise over the past 23 years so it’s very surprising that the franchise hasn’t really had an official merch store before. At least not on a large scale. That’s about to change, however! The Sims is launching a new merch store over the holiday season, just in time to go broke buying holiday gifts for all your Simmer friends and family!

If you want to be notified about updates to the merch store, you can register for a newsletter at shopthesims.com!

Stay up-to-date on all the latest Sims news by bookmarking our News category! Missed the broadcast? Catch the replay here!