The Sims 4 Growing Together is the most recent expansion pack to be announced for the franchise and is slated to introduce some vital mechanics for family gameplay. While some fans are waiting for the release of The Sims 5 - aka "Project Rene" - before buying new content, a base game update scheduled for March 14th will add an entire new life stage to the game: infants. Paired with the upcoming Growing Together pack, the sheer amount of new content being added to the game is causing significant issues for the Sims 4 modding community.
The Sims 4 received mixed reviews upon release for its removal of The Sims 3 open-world mechanics and for creating paid content featuring mechanics that were free in previous games. While the lack of features and innovative content first hampered the game's success, The Sims 4 modding community has stepped up and delivered thousands of free mods that elevate gameplay. The seemingly last-minute inclusion of a new life stage has modders scrambling to make their mods compatible - and this isn't the first time.
The Sims 4 Modding Community Is An Underappreciated Part Of The Game's Success
The Sims franchise has a long history of player creation, with some players using the game as a foundation for their custom content. The Sims 4 is an especially prudent example, as some Simmers have created "expansion pack" - quality mods that add realistic gameplay, dating apps, zombie apocalypses, and more. While The Sims 4 was released with the inclusion of mod-friendly mechanics - a mod directory for instance - The Sims team has had controversy regarding the mod community and policy changes.
With The Sims 4 base game being released for almost a decade, many Simmers rely on mods and custom content to continue playing, especially when expansion and game packs miss the mark. Although the upcoming addition of infants to the game isn't the first major expansion, the continual updates have devastating consequences for mods. For instance, Sims 4 modder Arnie created the popular "Brookheights Open-World Mod Pack" that gave the game open-world mechanics. Unfortunately, the frequent official patch updates of The Sims 4 have broken the mod, requiring it to be rebuilt from scratch.
The Sims Team Should Support The Mod Community Before The Release of Future Updates
The main issue surrounding the new update could be that in The Sims 4 base game, babies are the first life stage, with toddlers added in the January 2017 patch. This means it's been almost six years since a new life stage was added. Given that many of the best Sims 4 mods are built to augment Sim behavior and realism, it seems almost every mod will need to be updated to include infants. While it's surprising to get such a significant update for The Sims 4, it might be a signal for The Sims team to give the mod community ample time and resources to make their content compatible.
The Sims 4Growing Together expansion pack is exciting because it might be the first to introduce unique gameplay to the franchise. The trailer includes new traits, items, family dynamics, and interactions that haven't been seen before in any of the games, boding well for the future of The Sims. As players are certain to want to incorporate new official content with mods that they might have been using for years, it's important for The Sims team to consider the creator community when planning updates. After all, the sheer time it takes to create free content shows an appreciation for The Sims 4 that creators should get in return.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.