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The Sims 4 devs form new team to address the game’s long list of issues

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A woman Sim fixing a boiler next to a male Sim in the Sims 4 For Rent expansion.
EA

The Sims 4 may be hitting its 10th birthday soon, but the developers at Maxis are still working to update and fix the game. This time, it’s with the help of a new team that will focus specifically on these core issues.

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The developers posted a statement on the Sims X (formerly Twitter) account Thursday announcing the move, which they hope will “be able to increase both the number of fixes and the frequency with which we ship these batched updates.”

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A message to our loyal community 💚

Link to the Laundry List: https://t.co/GrYvp8Si0k pic.twitter.com/u4IhIDLbW8

— The Sims (@TheSims) May 23, 2024

There is also a longer “Laundry List” available, which lists a number of bugs and issues the team hopes to address first, although it’s not comprehensive. These include everything from ensuring no dishes get ignored while cleaning, to making sure players who make Science Babies also get the “Had a Baby” milestone. These Laundry Lists will be released around every two months, according to the developers, addressing fixes and updates.

The team also hopes to improve performance, first by ensuring the next patch will help the game use less memory, which should help with crashes and lag. “Our goal is to fix more reported concerns, both big and small, over the next six months and beyond,” the developers wrote.

The Sims 4 has been out almost 10 years, and with so many updates and DLC released over that time, it’s no surprise that the game is suffering from bugs and poor performance. However, the Sims community is growing restless with the state of the game, and even the Sims subreddit post about the announcement was filled with cynicism. The top comment reads, “Gonna be hard to fix something that’s been broken for ten years now.” For Rent, an expansion that released in December, was full of bugs, and players complained that the world felt way too empty for what they paid for it. On Steam, the pack still has “mostly negative” reviews.

Maxis, along with publisher Electronic Arts, have said a new Sims game is in the works, called Project Rene. However, we don’t know much about the game besides that it’s in development. When the game was teased in 2022, EA said it was still “years away,” so it’s unlikely we’ll hear anything new soon.

Beyond performance fixes, The Sims 4 is getting a new season soon, called Season of Love. This will introduce the new Flirtatious Expansion Pack, along with updates and new destination kits.

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Carli Velocci
Carli Velocci
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…
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