Sims 4 players racked up a whopping 1.4 billion total hours played in 2022, EA says, and fans of the arguably best-known game of life created even more Sims this year than last. It’s been a banner year for the series – not only did we get a sneak peek at the upcoming game back in October ahead of its early access release, but The Sims 4 also went free to play.
EA reports in its year-end breakdown that “Simmers spent 1.4 billion hours on The Sims 4 creating 18.5% more Sims characters than in 2021.” Of course, there were plenty of reasons to dive into the character creator in 2022: not only was the game available to more players than ever thanks to its free transition, but the Sims 4 customizable pronouns update allows players to modify their the characters’ gender identity and pronouns, as well as their romantic and sexual preferences.
We also saw several notable updates to the game in 2022, with The Sims 4 Werewolves expansion jumping out as a particularly dramatic addition to the Occult Sims cast that you can assign to your characters or convert under the right conditions.
The announcement of The Sims: Project René probably encouraged a lot of players to return to the last core edition as well – the project is essentially the early stage of what will likely become a Sims 5, and it’s already being tested in a limited capacity by members. from the community as EA aims to build it with the help of Sims fans. You can read our The Sims: Project Renee interview to learn more about what the team hopes to achieve with Early Access and the enhanced diversity options and creation tools in the next game.
If you want to join the crowd, you can download The Sims 4 for free. Whether it’s your first time playing or you’re a veteran player, the best Sims 4 mods offer lots of great ways to improve your gameplay, and our guide to the best Sims 4 CC should help you find some of the best content packs. personalized. and creators to further enhance your experience.