The Sims 4 is Free to Play for Limited Time

On February 4 in the year 2000, legendary sim developer Maxis released its unique life simThe Sims, the first game in what would become an incredibly popular franchise. 22 years later andThe Simsremains incredibly popular, withThe Sims 4support continuing as Electronic Arts rolls out DLC after DLC. There’s always an opportunity to bring in new players ofThe Sims 4, though. That’s why this weekend EA is makingThe Sims 4available free to play on Steam.The Sims 4will have a free trial available from February 3 through February 7. It’ll officially end Monday before noon, after which players will have to purchaseThe Sims 4to continue playing. While it’s called a free trial, it appears that the full game ofThe Sims 4will be available to play once downloaded. There shouldn’t be any limitations, other than the cutoff date on Monday.RELATED:The Sims 4 Adding Custom PronounsEA is makingThe Sims 4free-to-play for the weekend on Steam as part of the franchise’s 22nd anniversary. It’s been 22 years sinceThe Simswas released, with three main sequels between then and now. There have also been nine otherThe Simstitles, includingThe Sims Online,The Sims Life Stories, and most recentlyThe Sims Mobile.The Sims 4has been available since 2014 and was the last release of Maxis before EA “reorganized” the studio. Who is to say what’s next forThe Sims, but it’s unlikely to ever be the same.

The Simsanniversary event goes beyond a weekend of free access toThe Sims 4, of course.The Sims 4is also discounted 88% on Steam, cutting the price to just $4.79. All ofThe Sims 4’s expansions have also been discounted 50%, withThe Sims 4’s Game Packsand Stuff Packs discounted 30%. It’s a great way forThe Sims 4players to catch up on content, or for new players to dive in.

Electronic Arts is also doing a fun celebration event with content creators through the weekend.The Sims 4streamersand creators including Juno Birch, HeXtian, CottoneeSocks, DrGluon, and lilsimsie have all participated in EA’s 22nd birthday weekend.

The Simsfranchise is, admittedly, in a very weird place right now.The Sims 4is over seven years old now, but is arguably as popular as ever. DLC continues to be incredibly lucrative for the franchise, even if it’s becoming rarer and rarer. EA could be working on a sequel, but is that even whatThe Simsplayers want anymore? Odds are,The Simshas a long future ahead of it, whatever direction EA decides to take it in.

The Sims 4is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.