Late in September, EA committed to two months of maintenance for The Sims 4, as its community reported a growing number of bugs afflicting the 12-year-old life sim. The publisher wants the ageing sequel to continue as the primary platform for virtual soap operas for the foreseeable future, rather than replace it and its many expansions with a full-on sequel. But the bugs piling higher than a locust swarm in a grain silo threatened to undermine the game’s foundations.
The first batch of bugfixes landed with immediate effect, addressing issues like deformed pets and vanishing ghost children. Slightly later than planned, the second QoL patch has now arrived, fixing more than 150 problems raised by the community on the EA forums and social media.
Alongside the many bugfixes, EA has also added a new, free collection of items into The Sims 4 themed around West African culture. Created in partnership with the Pan African Gaming Group and Sims players with direct connections to West African countries, the collection lets you create a sim with fashion and accessories inspired by West African designs, cook plates of jollof rice with sides of chicken drumsticks, and decorate home with aloe plants, woven baskets, hiwe area rugs, and more.
This latest update represents the end of EA’s quality-of-life initiative, though the publisher’s original post on the subject notes that “ongoing work” will be shaped by players “utilizing the EA Forums and casting your votes”. EA is also planning a larger technology refresh for The Sims 4 at some point in the future, at least according to an interview EA president Laura Miele gave to Variety in July.
Whether this will be affected by EA’s recent acquisition remains to be seen, though The Sims 4’s content creators have already departed in droves due to the Saudi-backed buyout, while the developers have stated that the game “will always be a space where you can express your authentic self”.
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