Electronic Arts reported that The Sims 4 had reached 85 million players worldwide by May 2024, with 31 million of them joining after the game went free-to-play on October 18, 2022 (EA, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks). The wider franchise had already crossed 5 billion dollars in lifetime sales by October 2019 and roughly 200 million copies sold across four mainline games (GamesIndustry.biz, 2019; Strong National Museum of Play, 2016). In 2026 the business model keeps shifting again: EA opened an in-game marketplace on March 17, 2026, where outside creators earn about 30% of a new virtual currency called Moola on every pack they sell (EA, March 2026). None of that revenue comes from a box price anymore; every dollar The Sims 4 makes today flows through DLC packs, kits, or Marketplace transactions layered on top of a free base game. This analysis consolidates data from EA’s own investor disclosures, GamesIndustry.biz, Steam’s public charts, CurseForge, and 14 other primary sources to map where The Sims franchise stands in 2026.
TL;DR
- The Sims 4 has reached 85 million players as of May 2024, up from 70 million a year earlier (EA; Game Developer, April 2023).
- 31 million Sims 4 players joined after the October 18, 2022 free-to-play switch, roughly 36% of the current total (EA, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks).
- Average weekly active users rose 53% in the months after the free-to-play launch (Game Developer, April 2023).
- The Sims franchise has generated more than 5 billion dollars in lifetime revenue and sold nearly 200 million copies (GamesIndustry.biz, 2019; Strong National Museum of Play, 2016).
- The Sims 4’s DLC catalog has grown to 21 expansion packs, 12 game packs, 20 stuff packs, and 59 kits as of February 2026 (Wikipedia, compiled release history).
- Owning every Sims 4 pack cost 1,064.45 dollars at full price in a March 2023 audit, before dozens more kits and packs shipped (PCGamesN, 2023).
- EA’s new Sims 4 Marketplace pays outside creators about 30% of the Moola spent on their Maker Packs, live on PC and Mac since March 17, 2026 (EA, 2026).
- CurseForge hosts 127,830 Sims 4 mod and custom-content projects, with top individual mods logging millions of downloads (CurseForge).
- The Sims 4 hit an all-time Steam concurrent-player peak of 96,185 in October 2022, the same month it went free-to-play (SteamDB/SteamCharts).
- The Sims Mobile earned 15 million dollars in its first four months and 20 to 25 million dollars within its first eight months (Pocket Gamer; Sensor Tower, 2018).
- Project Rene, revealed alongside the free-to-play switch in October 2022, is not a direct Sims 4 replacement, EA confirmed in 2024 and again in January 2026 (Variety, 2024; EA, 2026).
- Several prominent Sims 4 creators quit EA’s creator program in October 2025 over the company’s 55 billion dollar take-private deal (TechRadar; IGN, 2025).
1. Franchise Scale and Legacy
The Sims turned 25 in February 2025, and the scoreboard from before that milestone still anchors most public figures on the franchise. The Strong National Museum of Play inducted The Sims into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in 2016, citing sales of over 200 million copies and a ranking as the 10th best-selling video game franchise of all time. Three years later, GamesIndustry.biz reported EA’s own disclosure that combined lifetime sales across every Sims title had passed 5 billion dollars. Those are the two headline numbers still cited today because EA has not issued a newer combined franchise total; individual games, especially The Sims 4, now generate more current figures on their own. The pack count across generations tells its own story about how the business model matured: seven expansion packs carried the entire original game, while The Sims 4 alone has already shipped 21, plus dozens of smaller game packs, stuff packs, and kits that did not exist as product categories in 2000.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise lifetime copies sold | ~200 million | Strong National Museum of Play, 2016 |
| Franchise ranking among best-selling game franchises | 10th all-time | Strong National Museum of Play, 2016 |
| Franchise lifetime revenue (as of Oct 2019) | $5 billion+ | GamesIndustry.biz, Oct 29, 2019 |
| Mainline series entries | 4 (2000, 2004, 2009, 2014) | EA release history, via Wikipedia |
| Expansion packs, Sims 1 / Sims 2 / Sims 3 / Sims 4 | 7 / 8 / 11 / 21 | Compiled release history, as of Feb 2026 |
| Guinness World Records held | ”Best-Selling PC Game Series”; “Most Expansion Packs for a Videogame Series” | Guinness World Records, 2017 Gamer’s Edition |
| 25th-anniversary re-release | The Sims Legacy Collection, Jan 31, 2025 | EA |
For how that scale compares with who actually plays these games, see our gamer demographics statistics.
2. The Free-to-Play Transition and Player Growth
October 18, 2022 is the hinge point for every current Sims 4 statistic. EA stripped the price tag off the base game that day, kept every expansion, game pack, and kit as paid content, and started reporting player growth in a way it had never done before. Game Developer reported that by April 2023, six months after the switch, The Sims 4 had reached 70 million total players, 16 million of them new since the price dropped to zero, alongside a 53% jump in average weekly active users. EA extended that trend the following year: by May 2024 the total reached 85 million players, with 31 million gained since the free-to-play launch, meaning well over a third of the current audience discovered the game only after it stopped charging for entry. Steam’s own concurrent-player record, set the same month the price dropped, only captures one storefront out of several where the base game is available, so it likely understates the true size of the day-one surge across PC, console, and the EA app combined.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Free-to-play launch date | October 18, 2022 | Engadget, Sept 14, 2022; Polygon, Sept 14, 2022 |
| Total players, April 2023 | 70 million | Game Developer, Apr 18, 2023 |
| New players since free-to-play, April 2023 | 16 million | Game Developer, Apr 18, 2023 |
| Average weekly active users increase, post free-to-play | +53% | Game Developer, Apr 18, 2023 |
| Total players, May 2024 | 85 million | EA, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks |
| New players since free-to-play, May 2024 | 31 million | EA, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks |
| All-time peak concurrent Steam players | 96,185 (Oct 2022) | SteamCharts |
| Steam user reviews (current) | ~198,000 total; 86% positive of 105,569 English reviews, “Very Positive” | Steam store page |
Note: EA has not published a total-player figure newer than May 2024 in any public disclosure found for this report; treat 85 million as the most recent confirmed number, not a current one.
3. The DLC and Expansion Pack Economy
Free-to-play did not make The Sims 4 free to fully own. Removing the price of entry pushed EA further into a pack-based model that keeps expanding every few months. The Sims 4’s DLC lineup has grown to 21 expansion packs, 12 game packs, 20 stuff packs, and 59 kits, with the most recent expansion, Royalty & Legacy, released February 12, 2026. A March 2023 audit by PCGamesN, back when the catalog held only 13 expansion packs and 19 kits, put the cost of buying every pack at full price at 1,064.45 dollars. Given the packs added since, current full-catalog cost is meaningfully higher, though no updated full audit was found for 2026. That pricing ladder, four tiers running from 4.99 dollars for a kit up to 39.99 dollars for a full expansion, is what let EA remove the base game’s price tag without giving up revenue: the free-to-play switch moved the transaction point from a single upfront purchase to dozens of optional add-on decisions spread across a player’s entire time with the game.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sims 4 pack catalog (Feb 2026) | 21 expansion packs, 12 game packs, 20 stuff packs, 59 kits | Compiled release history, via Wikipedia |
| Full DLC catalog cost (March 2023 snapshot) | $1,064.45 | PCGamesN, Mar 20, 2023 |
| Expansion pack price | $39.99 | PCGamesN, 2023 |
| Game pack price | $19.99 | PCGamesN, 2023 |
| Stuff pack price | $9.99 | PCGamesN, 2023 |
| Kit price | $4.99 | PCGamesN, 2023 |
| Most recent expansion pack | Royalty & Legacy, Feb 12, 2026 | Wikipedia, compiled release history |
Context: pack-based DLC is one monetization path among several across the industry; our gaming subscription statistics cover the recurring-revenue alternative EA has largely avoided for The Sims.
4. The 2026 Marketplace and Creator Economy
The biggest structural change to Sims 4 monetization since the free-to-play switch arrived on March 3, 2026, when EA announced The Sims 4 Marketplace. Under EA’s own terms, outside creators, called Makers, earn approximately 30% of the Moola spent on their Maker Packs, which went live on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026 and can each bundle 3 to 50 assets. Moola itself sells in five tiers, from 2.49 dollars for 200 Moola up to 49.99 dollars for 5,500 Moola. EA opened Creator Program applications on March 5, 2026, restricted to applicants 18 or older who submit two assets for technical review, with approved Maker Packs translated into all 18 supported languages. The rollout followed a rockier stretch for the creator program: several high-profile Sims 4 creators publicly quit in October 2025 over EA’s 55 billion dollar take-private deal with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Silver Lake, and Affinity Partners, a deal that leaves PIF holding roughly 93.4% of the combined ownership stake. The Marketplace is the first time EA has taken a formal revenue cut of Sims fan content sold directly inside the base game, rather than leaving custom content as free downloads distributed through third-party sites.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sims 4 Marketplace launch (PC/Mac) | March 17, 2026 | EA, Mar 3, 2026 |
| Creator (Maker) revenue share | ~30% of Moola spent | EA, Mar 2026 |
| Moola currency price tiers | $2.49/200 to $49.99/5,500 | EA, Mar 2026 |
| Maker Pack asset count | 3 to 50 assets per pack | EA, Mar 2026 |
| Creator Program minimum age / applications opened | 18 years old / March 5, 2026 | EA, Mar 2026 |
| Maker Pack language localization | 18 supported languages | EA, Mar 2026 |
| EA take-private deal value | $55 billion | Eurogamer, Sept 29, 2025 |
| Public Investment Fund post-buyout ownership stake | ~93.4% | Wall Street Journal, Dec 2, 2025 |
Note: TechRadar and IGN both reported named Sims 4 creators, including Kayla Sims, James Turner, and Jesse McNamara, leaving EA’s creator partnerships in the weeks after the buyout announcement, citing discomfort with the new ownership structure rather than the marketplace terms themselves.
5. Modding and Custom Content Ecosystem
Long before EA built its own marketplace, fans were already building one informally. Maxis named CurseForge an official distribution partner for Sims 4 mods and custom content in 2022, folding an existing fan economy into a supported channel rather than replacing it. CurseForge currently hosts 127,830 separate Sims 4 projects, spanning gameplay mods, custom character-creation items, build and buy furnishings, and full worlds. Individual entries can rival small commercial releases in reach: the Foster Family gameplay mod has logged about 4.5 million downloads, the Smart Core Script mod about 4.1 million, and a fan-made multiplayer mod, S4MP, about 2.8 million, all tracked on their own CurseForge project pages.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| CurseForge partnership announced | 2022 | Wikipedia, compiled history |
| Sims 4 projects hosted on CurseForge (current) | 127,830 | CurseForge |
| Foster Family mod downloads | ~4.5 million | CurseForge |
| Smart Core Script mod downloads | ~4.1 million | CurseForge |
| Sims 4 Multiplayer Mod (S4MP) downloads | ~2.8 million | CurseForge |
| Stylist (Active) Career mod downloads | ~921,500 | CurseForge |
A creator-run mod economy this large is not unique to The Sims; our indie game statistics cover how small, independently produced content competes for the same audience attention.
6. Mobile Spinoffs
The Sims franchise expanded onto phones years before the main PC game went free, and its mobile arm followed a very different revenue path from day one: pay nothing up front, monetize through in-app purchases. The Sims Mobile topped App Store download charts within days of its March 8, 2018 launch and generated 15 million dollars in revenue in its first four months, according to Pocket Gamer and Sensor Tower. Revenue kept climbing, reaching an estimated 20 to 25 million dollars by that October, still within its first eight months on the market. The Sims FreePlay, the older of EA’s two mobile Sims titles, launched in 2011 and holds an aggregated Metacritic score of 80 out of 100. Neither app has had comparably specific revenue figures reported since 2018 in any source found for this report.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| The Sims Mobile launch date | March 8, 2018 | Pocket Gamer, Mar 8, 2018 |
| The Sims Mobile revenue, first 4 months | $15 million | Sensor Tower, 2018; Pocket Gamer, Jul 6, 2018 |
| The Sims Mobile revenue, by Oct 2018 | $20-25 million | Sensor Tower, 2018; Pocket Gamer, Oct 2018 |
| The Sims FreePlay launch year | 2011 | Wikipedia, compiled history |
| The Sims FreePlay Metacritic score | 80/100 | Metacritic, via Wikipedia |
For how these numbers sit against the broader phone-gaming market, see our mobile app usage statistics.
7. The Next Generation: Project Rene and Life Beyond Sims 4
EA paired the free-to-play announcement in October 2022 with a reveal of what the franchise’s next chapter might look like, codenamed Project Rene. EA vice president Kate Gorman told Variety in September 2024 that Project Rene would not be a direct replacement or sequel to The Sims 4, describing it instead as a separate, standalone project built for social and collaborative play. EA repeated that framing in a January 9, 2026 update, stating the project had evolved to focus on multiplayer, cross-play, and shared spaces, while confirming that more than half of its global Sims development team still works on The Sims 4 and its live content rather than the next-generation project. No release window has been disclosed for Project Rene as of this writing. Read together with the 2026 Marketplace launch, EA’s own statements suggest The Sims 4 is being extended indefinitely as the franchise’s primary revenue engine rather than being wound down ahead of a numbered sequel.
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Project Rene reveal date | October 18, 2022 | The Verge, Oct 18, 2022; Polygon, Oct 18, 2022 |
| EA statement on Rene vs. Sims 4 | ”not a direct replacement or sequel” | Variety, Sept 17, 2024 |
| Share of global Sims dev team still on Sims 4 (Jan 2026) | “more than half” | EA, Jan 9, 2026 |
| Planned Project Rene model | Free-to-play, multiplayer, cross-play, no confirmed subscription or energy mechanics | Wikipedia, compiled from press briefings |
Summary: The Sims by the Numbers
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Franchise lifetime copies sold | ~200 million | Strong National Museum of Play, 2016 |
| Franchise lifetime revenue (as of 2019) | $5 billion+ | GamesIndustry.biz, 2019 |
| The Sims 4 revenue (as of 2019) | $1 billion+ | EA, via Wikipedia |
| Sims 4 total players, Apr 2023 / May 2024 | 70 million / 85 million | Game Developer; EA |
| New Sims 4 players since free-to-play (May 2024) | 31 million | EA, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks |
| Average weekly active users increase, post free-to-play | +53% | Game Developer, 2023 |
| Free-to-play launch date | Oct 18, 2022 | Engadget; Polygon |
| All-time peak concurrent Steam players | 96,185 | SteamCharts |
| Steam reviews positive rate | 86% (“Very Positive”) | Steam store page |
| Sims 4 expansion packs (Feb 2026) | 21 | Compiled release history |
| Sims 4 kits (Feb 2026) | 59 | Compiled release history |
| Full DLC catalog cost (Mar 2023 snapshot) | $1,064.45 | PCGamesN, 2023 |
| Sims 4 Marketplace launch (PC/Mac) | March 17, 2026 | EA, 2026 |
| Creator (Maker) revenue share on Moola sales | ~30% | EA, 2026 |
| CurseForge Sims 4 projects hosted | 127,830 | CurseForge |
| Top individual mod downloads | ~4.5 million (Foster Family) | CurseForge |
| The Sims Mobile revenue, first 4 months | $15 million | Pocket Gamer; Sensor Tower, 2018 |
| The Sims FreePlay Metacritic score | 80/100 | Metacritic |
| EA take-private deal value | $55 billion | Eurogamer, 2025 |
| Project Rene reveal date | October 18, 2022 | The Verge; Polygon, 2022 |
Methodology and Sources
Figures were gathered directly from EA’s own investor and press disclosures, named games-industry outlets, and public platform data (Steam, CurseForge), cross-checking overlapping claims across two or more sources where possible and excluding any figure that could not be traced to a named, dated source.
- GamesIndustry.biz, The Sims franchise surpasses $5b in lifetime sales (Oct 29, 2019)
- Strong National Museum of Play, 2016 World Video Game Hall of Fame Inductees (May 2016)
- Game Developer, The Sims 4 reaches franchise milestone with 70 million players (Apr 18, 2023)
- Electronic Arts, Q4 FY24 Prepared Remarks (investor disclosure, May 2024)
- Engadget, The Sims 4 will be free to play starting next month (Sept 14, 2022)
- Polygon, The Sims 4 is going free to play (Sept 14, 2022)
- Polygon, The Sims 5 is in early development, has cool new build mode (Oct 18, 2022)
- The Verge, EA teases the next generation of The Sims with Project Rene (Oct 18, 2022)
- Variety, No Sims 5 coming as EA sets multiplayer expansion to franchise (Sept 17, 2024)
- EA, New Year, New Updates: Four Things to Know Now about the Future of The Sims (Jan 9, 2026)
- EA, The Sims Creator Program is Evolving (Feb 19, 2026)
- EA, Introducing The Sims Maker Program and The Sims 4 Marketplace (Mar 3, 2026)
- TechRadar, Top Sims 4 creators quit EA Creator Network over Saudi-backed deal (Oct 24, 2025)
- IGN, The Sims Creators Quit EA Partnerships Amid Buyout Concerns (Oct 28, 2025)
- Eurogamer, EA privately acquired in $55bn deal (Sept 29, 2025)
- Wall Street Journal, Saudi Fund to Own Almost All of Electronic Arts After Buyout (Dec 2, 2025)
- PCGamesN, How much does it cost to buy all The Sims 4 DLC? (Mar 20, 2023)
- SteamDB / SteamCharts, The Sims 4 player charts
- Steam, The Sims 4 store page
- CurseForge, The Sims 4 projects
- Pocket Gamer, The Sims Mobile builds up $15 million in revenues after four months (Jul 6, 2018)
- Additional figures: Guinness World Records 2017 Gamer’s Edition; Wikipedia compiled release histories for The Sims, The Sims 4, and The Sims Mobile, used only to trace and cross-check primary citations.
Data watch: EA typically discloses franchise-level player and revenue milestones during quarterly earnings calls and prepared remarks, so updated Sims 4 player totals are most likely to surface in EA’s next fiscal quarter reporting; the Sims 4 Marketplace and Creator Program figures are new as of March 2026 and may shift once the console rollout completes; CurseForge and Steam figures are live counts that change continuously.
Last updated: July 23, 2026. We review and update this page quarterly as new data is published.