Everyone has to start somewhere, and for The Sims, that somewhere was a Windows PC in your parent's attic. Its humble beginnings were off to a good start, with EA and Maxis riffing off the success of SimCity and SimSafari to tighten its scope, look to the suburbs, and embark on a potentially risky pivot into unknown territory.
But 25 years later, with The Sims 4 still going strong, it's no doubt that EA struck gold by swapping to life sims. As one of the longest-running, best loved game franchises ever, you'd be hard pressed not to find someone with fond memories of it – past or present. But how did we get here from the days of Windows 98? I've picked out my top 10 standout additions to the game across its history that now stand out as milestone moments, each a stepping stone from risky venture to genre titan as we celebrate 25 years of Simming.
10. The Sims (2000)
Many credit The Sims' 2000 launch with birthing the life sim genre as we know it today, refining and reframing more holistic management tools as seen in the best city builders to put a new challenge before players: to build and manage a digital life.
It's a simple enough premise, but it's one that stuck. The Sims gamified the normalcies of life with an oddly therapeutic touch, turning mundanity to intrigue as players navigated not only their own Sim families but those of resident townies and NPCs, uncovering existing world lore while creating their own stories and changing the landscape of the neighborhood – literally, too, thanks to Build Mode. The Sims provided the raw sandbox tools and let our creativity run wild with them, paving the way for the series' second generation.
9. Preset narratives (The Sims 2, 2004)
The Sims 2 improved on its predecessor in many ways, but one that stands out is the introduction of preset stories in pre-made households. From map view, players could hover over base game families to read a short blurb about each of them, painting a Desperate Housewives-like portrait of their scandalous domestic dramas.
From them, we can learn that Don Lothario is wooing both Caliente sisters. Daniel Pleasant is having an affair with his housemaid. The Monty and Capps of Veronaville are constantly at one another's throats, much like their Shakespearean namesakes. Not only did preset narratives encourage more interactivity between player-made families and pre-made ones, it opened up the door for The Sims 2 as a narrative devising platform, with the ability to edit each blurb in accordance with the player's own influence on each household. Sadly, these preset family biographies were nixed in follow-up games, but The Sims 2 is when the franchise really started feeling like a story-led experience as well as a management sim.
8. The Sims 2: Seasons (2007)
Who knew a little thing like snow could make such a massive difference? The Sims 2: Seasons stands out as a momentous release in franchise history, proving the power of subtlety over kitsch when it comes to immersion factor. Seasons brought weather to Pleasantview and beyond, as well as functional outerwear and holiday celebrations to create a stronger sense of time passage in the lives of our Sims.
The implementation of seasonal weather also had knock-on effects for many other gameplay systems. A rainy day called for coats and boots, with Sims popping open an umbrella when stepping out in stormy weather. Neglecting to wrap up during winter meant your Sim could freeze to death in their swim suits, or die of heatstroke in the summer months if they didn't stay cool. Many expansion packs have made the jump between generations, but Seasons became such an intrinsic part of The Sims 2 that it's now seen as a must-have for The Sims 3 and 4 respectively. If that's not a milestone, I don't know what is.
7. Open world, open life (The Sims 3, 2009)
Ask anyone what they miss about The Sims 3, and it's likely they will say the open world format. Doing away with the loading screens between neighborhood view and individual lots, The Sims 3 was the first time we could watch our Sims stroll around town with a pram, drive their cars around, or visit rabbit hole lots on foot.
The Sims 4 did retain the open world view, but it never quite caught up to The Sims 3's unbroken sense of immersion. Not to mention, the newest iteration of the game is still markedly lacking driveable cars. Guess bikes and horses will have to do for now, but if there's one thing I hope to see from EA now that there's no Sims 5 on the horizon, it's the return of cars – and fewer loading screens, please.
6. Bye bye, landlines (The Sims 3, 2009)
With the advent of The Sims 3 came one of the most important markers of modern tech being represented in the game: the mobile phone. Every teenage and older Sim came equipped with their own cellphone in their inventory, doing away with the necessity for the all-important wall or tabletop phone cradle that featured so heavily in Sims 1 and 2.
I remember being appalled by it at first, especially given how many self-imposed challenges I liked to embark on at the time that restricted my Sims' use of tech – the Decades Challenge, for example. But soon, I struggled to remember life before my Sims could play games on their phone while using the toilet, giving their Fun need a nice little buff in the process. Phones would become much more useful in later instalments, as I'll mention further down the list, but here's a shout out to one of The Sims 3's most daring improvements.
5. Hair to stay (The Sims 3: Generations, 2011)
When body hair was added to The Sims 3, giving players the option to make their Sims look more like real actual people, it didn't feel like as much of a paradigm shift as it turned out to be. But really, we wouldn't have the more realistic Sim bodies and families we know and love in 2025 if not for The Sims 3: Generations championing the basics.
Inclusivity has become the lifeblood of modern Simming. Putting acne cream on teenagers in The Sims 2 was one of the more immersive, realistic gameplay elements of its era, but Generations upped the ante by offering not only more ways for players to see themselves represented in the game, but more ways to tell stories. All that shaggy body hair would also lead quite nicely into another Sims 3 era milestone that loved to howl at the moon…
4. Occult frenzy (The Sims 3: Supernatural, 2012)
Much as I love the Victorian gothic vampires in The Sims 2: Nightlife, my occult-loving heart truly felt seen in The Sims 3: Supernatural. While zombies and ghosts had been around since 2000, Supernatural adding werewolves, reworked vampires, witches, and fairies into the life state mix allowed players to put a hint of the unusual into their sleepy suburban towns – and boy, did it work a treat.
Werewolves turning at the stroke of midnight on a moonlit night, marking the first time lunar phases were added to the franchise. Fairies sleeping in their treehouses after shrinking down to the size of glowbugs. Vampires that hide in plain sight, no longer dressed head to toe in velvet gowns and ornate diadems, skulking around nightclubs in search of prey. Witches quietly passing down the art of magic to the next generation, more Charmed than Hocus Pocus. The Sims 3: Supernatural stands out as one of my favorite expansion packs in franchise history due to how cleverly each of the occult types is presented, doing away with the kitschy extremities of The Sims 2 to present a more refined take on how these beings might live among us in peace – or cause chaos, if they so wish. Sims 4 Werewolves, eat your heart out.
3. Love app-tually (The Sims 4: Highschool Years, 2022)
With the introduction of smartphones well established by the time The Sims 4: Highschool Years was released, there was only one thing left to do. Mirror the youth of today and give Sim kids more reasons to doomscroll!
The Trendii app allows teenagers and older Sims to thrift and sell their own outfit creations, giving highschoolers another way to earn a little money on top of their part time jobs and potentially pave the way for a future in fashion. We also have social media apps added, with Sims able to create their own profiles, gain followers, and carve a road to influencerdom. It sounds bizarre, but by giving teen Sims so many ways to utilize their mobile phones, Highschool Years might be the first time my teenage Sims felt like… well, teenagers. It was just the beginning; 2024's Lovestruck followed suit with the addition of a dating app, and with so many app options out there ripe for the reimagining, I don't imagine Cupid's Corner will be the last.
2. Teething problems (The Sims 4: Growing Together, 2023)
We do not speak of the darkest time in The Sims 4 history when toddlers were markedly absent from the game and babies would age into 7-year-old children overnight. But perhaps Growing Together is an apology for that, proving a milestone achievement on EA's quest to deliver expansive gameplay opportunities at every stage of Sim life.
Infants were added as an interim age group between babies and toddlers in one of my favorite Sims expansions of 2023. They don't do very much except poop, cry, and try to waddle about, but there's something special about seeing realistic infancy in a game that has always put immersion at the heart of its intentions – whether or not it followed through. Having a chance to watch babies reach their milestones is made all the more worthwhile for the knock-on effects to their toddler stage, allowing them to become more confident and developed young people who don't need half as much help using the potty or learning to talk. No more "grew up poorly" traits for you, then.
1. New beginnings (2024 – ?)
This might not be a milestone moment in a Sims pack, but it has changed the course of the series as we once knew it. As we enter 2025, The Sims is embarking on an exciting, albeit strange, new adventure. EA announced last year that The Sims 4 is to exist in perpetuity for the time being as the central Sims product, with no plans for The Sims 5 in the pipeline.
What does this mean? Well, for now, it means we won't have to fork out another few grand for new expansion packs for a brand new Sims generation, because The Sims 4 seems here to stay. EA has fought long and hard to get the game up to scratch, even if it took a few years to catch up to the community's expectations. All that's left to do is look ahead to the 25 years stretching out before us, and wonder what could possibly come next. Hint: cars, please.
Could inZOI finally beat The Sims at its own game?
