{"id":9034,"date":"2026-05-07T14:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T11:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/?p=9034"},"modified":"2026-05-07T17:10:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T13:40:05","slug":"the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/2026\/05\/07\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sims 4 Has Big Changes Coming Later This Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">150 bug fixes and new features are on the way to The Sims 4 later this month.  <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">With &#8220;an incredible range of content and experiences&#8221; released since The Sims 4 launched way back in 2014, the team said it is now committed to &#8220;making that content even better by delivering improvements to the gameplay that matters most to Simmers.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">To help achieve this, the team has outlined a &#8220;Laundry List&#8221; of just some of the changes coming in a huge base game update on May 12, including a number of fan-requested improvements such as optimizations for Infants, Toddlers, Sleep, and &#8220;general Sim autonomy.&#8221; The community has also helped shape the priority order by voting for their top issues.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">One of the biggest changes will be an increase in the frequency of automatically generated backup saves, and a new layering feature in Create a Sim, &#8220;continuing to expand on the technical info we provide to Modders and [content creators] to support their work.&#8221; Oh, and you&#8217;ll be able to add a super cute new Infant Playmat, too.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The team promises that the &#8220;fun doesn&#8217;t stop there,&#8221; and this work will continue to roll out in the months ahead, along with more free content, collabs, and partnerships. More will be revealed in a &#8220;special&#8221; Dev Q&amp;A in The Sims Discord on May 5 at  2pm PT, along with a Twitch Livestream on May 6 at 10am PT.<\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"title2\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-3735650234\">The Sims 4 May 12 update:<\/h2>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Fixes for Most Voted Issues:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>\u201cBlack Photos\u201d: Implemented 6 fixes addressing different causes of texture loss, along with additional QV testing on paintings and photos to catch previously unreported cases.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>At the time of writing, all known \u201cblack photo\u201d bugs have been resolved. We\u2019ll continue to monitor and address any new reports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Sims will no longer keep putting down Infants before picking them back up. <\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Sims will no longer receive the &#8220;Secret Witness\u201d Sentiment when a married or engaged Sim is witnessed WooHooing with their partner by another Sim.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] \u201cCan\u2019t place item\u201d:  Fixed in both new and old saves. <\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums]  Sims could get stuck with Scandal; this is now fixed for new cases, and existing affected saves will have the lingering VFX cleared.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 data-cy=\"title3\" class=\"title3 jsx-12333944 jsx-3517023867\">New! Base Layer Feature<\/h3>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">We\u2019re adding a new category to Create a Sim called Base Layers, which will let Simmers express themselves by broadening their fashion choices, providing covered options, and improving gender expression with the layerable binder. There will be 8 Base Layer options for Adults, 4 Base Layer options for Children, and 2 Base Layer options for Toddlers, all in a variety of colors! <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">With 380+ new Base Layer variants (including all swatches) that can be layered, this gives players exponential new outfit combinations using any Top or Full Body CAS assets!<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Infant and Toddler Improvements and Fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">This update represents a significant investment into improving Infants and Toddlers, based on top EA Forums issues and additional feedback from Discord and Reddit. After extensive playtesting, we\u2019re excited to share them with you!<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>New Infant Playmat: <\/strong>Sims prefer placing infants on playmats instead of the floor, making care feel more natural that all players can now enjoy<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>New toggle in the Options Menu to &#8220;Disable Caregiver Autonomy for Infants.<\/strong>&#8221; When enabled, all care is manual, though Sims will still socialize and you can use \u201cCheck Infant.\u201d Neglect can lead to social services intervention.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li><strong>New Infant thought bubble for loud noises<\/strong>: Infants now react to loud noises with a buff and thought bubble, plus a one-time tutorial explaining why they wake, helping players address the cause instead of repeated pickups.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Additional hovertip improvements<\/strong>, such as &#8220;Prefers Bottle Feeding&#8221; interactions to clarify that choosing a preference restricts autonomous feeding to that method only and Stand Up Milestone, where Infants needed specific nearby objects to pull themselves up [EA Forums]. <\/li>\n<li><strong>Infant tuning<\/strong> based on player feedback, such as;\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Sims will now clean up diapers left on the floor after changing an Infant or Newborn, as long as a trash can is nearby. (Base Game)<\/li>\n<li>Changing an Infant&#8217;s diaper at the Changing Table takes about a third less time than it used to. (Base Game)<\/li>\n<li>The Infant Hunger Need will now decrease slightly more slowly. We received light feedback on this and we&#8217;re hoping this slight tweak will prove the right balance for player realism and fun. (Basegame)<\/li>\n<li>Feeding an Infant will now take about fifteen minutes (Sim Time), which is half the time it previously took. (Base Game)<\/li>\n<li>Infant care interactions (Give Bottle, Change Diaper, etc.) should now appear on the first Pie Menu when an Infant&#8217;s Needs are low for your ease of access.<\/li>\n<li>Infant Milestones tied to Tummy Time now unlock twice as fast, addressing feedback that progression felt too slow &#8211; especially on shorter lifespans. With reasonable attention, most Milestones can now be achieved by around day 3. (Growing Together)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>25+ bug fixes<\/strong> for top voted Infant and Toddler issues, including:\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] [EA Forums] [EA Forums] Frequent Infant pickups and put downs, caregiver conflicts, and Sims freezing during care were major frustrations. This update includes multiple interconnected fixes to address these issues, all available in the Base Game.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Infant and Toddler Needs will no longer decrease when the Active Sim (and the player) is on another lot, away from them. We hope that this change will make caregiving for Infants and Toddlers more enjoyable. (Basegame)<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Toddler Sims will no longer be hungry but would remain idle, despite having food. (Basegame)<\/li>\n<li>We received feedback that \u201creading to Toddlers\u201d wasn\u2019t working well, and we\u2019ve addressed a few bugs related to this;\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] Toddlers are now able to successfully run the &#8220;Ask to Read Book&#8221; interaction on a teen or older Sim.<\/li>\n<li>The &#8220;Be Read to By&#8221; interaction on Toddler Books should now function when selected by an Infant. <\/li>\n<li>We fixed a code exception that could cause Sims to reset when an Adult Sim would click on a book and choose to &#8220;Read to Children.&#8221; (Basegame)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Infants Milestones are no longer disappearing or being reset when that Infant&#8217;s Household is visited while playing another Household. This is fixed in old saves as well as new ones. (Growing Together)<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Infants are now able to act on their unlocked Milestone developmental progress when they are not at their Residential lot. This fix is retroactive in old saves where the bug had previously been occurring. (Growing Together)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Base Game: Autonomy &amp; Sleeping Fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">We didn\u2019t stop with the Infants and Toddlers! Improving overall autonomy is a key player concern. Sims now dance far less (about once per day) and also no longer drink water autonomously, making behavior more predictable and less disruptive. Plus, additional bug fixes!<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] We fixed an issue that was causing NPCs to enter a house to drink water. Unfortunately, this fix was unable to be retroactive for saves in which this gameplay was already occurring.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Fixed an issue where Children could be taken away despite not being neglected. New checks ensure a Child must be actively failing (F) before this occurs. The fix is retroactive, but previously removed Children cannot be restored.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Sims with the Jealous trait will no longer get upset when their partner interacts with their own children Sims. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Sleeping autonomy has been improved following community feedback, addressing a mix of bugs and quality of life issues to make sleep behavior more reliable.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Base Game<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] Sims woken by a nearby TV or radio will now turn the device off and return to sleep. This keeps the intended wakeup behavior while making the cause clearer and reducing repeated interruptions.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] We&#8217;ve added a hovertip to the Nap interaction to clarify that this interaction is meant to be shorter with a boost to Energy (rather than an interaction that fills the Need fully). Sims should not stay in the nap interaction until their Energy is full, but we wanted to help clarify this expected behavior. <\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Fixed an issue where exhausted Sims could get into bed but still collapse from fatigue. Sims who fall asleep in bed will now remain there instead of getting up and passing out.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] There were callouts in the sleeping EA Forums thread where Sims weren&#8217;t sharing a bed with another Sim. We believe our other fixes have addressed this issue, though as a note, Sims will only sleep in the same bed when their relationship is high enough.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Lovestruck<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] [EA Forums] There was an issue where Sims in a romantic relationship were getting out of bed when told to sleep simultaneously. We added an interaction called &#8220;Sleep and Cuddle&#8221; which will now allow this gameplay to function properly.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Canceling Cuddle on a sleeping Sim will no longer wake both Sims or interrupt their sleep. If the interaction is canceled after one Sim has joined another already in bed, both will remain in bed. Canceling Cuddle before either Sim is in bed will still result in both Sims getting up, as intended. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Royalty &amp; Legacy Fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Among other fixes, Royalty and Legacy is getting a polishing pass too! Alongside the two top Community Reported Issues addressed in the list above you can also expect fixes for issues relating to the \u201cPoor Leadership\u201d sentiment being added to the Dynasty Head, Offspring of pre-made Dynasties not being added to a Dynasty, and pre-patch babies being born as a secret. We also made various updates to the Grand Ball event not functioning properly. You can expect to read more about these and other fixes on May 12th in the full list of Patch Notes.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] Sims will now arrive wearing the selected dress code to a Grand Ball event (in line with the functionality for Funerals). As a note: any remaining oddities are due to tagging and would need reported and fixed individually. We did a pass and felt that outfits looked good with all packs, while selecting more common combinations.<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] The Mask option is no longer disabled after entering Create a Sim to change the Host&#8217;s outfit for a Grand Ball event.<\/li>\n<li>We fixed the mask icon in the UI for hosting a Grand Ball event.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Base Game: General Fixes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Alongside major improvements to Infants, autonomy, and sleep, this update will address a wide range of highly voted community issues across the Base Game and packs. Key fixes include resolving inventory bugs with photos, improving Family Tree accuracy, progress against preventing incorrect relationship changes in Create A Sim, and reverting the default Gallery sorting back to \u201cNewest\u201d. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Across packs and systems, we\u2019ve fixed gameplay blockers, UI issues, and inconsistencies. Highlights include Gallery improvements like fewer upload timeouts and better sorting, fixes for disappearing animals and aging bugs, and improved event, trait, and interaction behavior. We\u2019ve also made broad tagging, sorting, and visual updates in Create a Sim and Build Mode to improve organization and consistency.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The patch notes on May 12th will list these out individually, plus we\u2019ll update the individual EA Forum threads too!<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><strong>Updates on Top Community Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">While shipping fixes for top issues, we also continue to investigate other top community reported issues:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>[EA Forums] We\u2019re testing a future fix for Windows and Doors glitching into walls with certain Graphics Settings. <\/li>\n<li>We\u2019re actively investigating a few challenging, (likely) performance-related issues that are highly voted within the community;<\/li>\n<li>We\u2019re continuing to investigate and ship fixes to reduce save file corruption. Following our March 10 update, Scratch files were moved from Documents to AppData for PC players to prevent conflicts with cloud backup services. Since rollout, we\u2019ve seen improvements and are working to bring similar changes to Mac.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Some save corruption issues, such as failed lot placement, infinite loading, or white screens, may be linked to heavy use of placement cheats or very large saves exceeding system memory. We believe we\u2019ve identified a fix for at least one case and are exploring solutions for others. <\/li>\n<li>In the meantime, Memory Boost can help in certain situations, and we\u2019re working on clearer ways to surface what\u2019s happening and how players can respond.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] We continue to investigate the cause of \u201cpartnered Sims forming an unintended family relationship upon entering CAS\u201d issue.  If testing goes well, a fix should be included in a future update.  <\/li>\n<li>[EA Forums] Began investigating Autonomous Insulting\/Mean Interactions happening in player games after Patch 1.108.349. In recent player submitted saves,  this behavior looks to be As Designed,  caused by the Vicious Dynasty Ideal, but we\u2019ll continue to investigate.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world&#8217;s biggest gaming sites and publications. She&#8217;s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at <\/em>BlueSky<em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month-1.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/the-sims-4-has-big-changes-coming-later-this-month-1.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9035,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-9034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-49","tag-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9034"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9034\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9036,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9034\/revisions\/9036"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}