Technical Details
The Sims 4 was released on DVD or as Digital Download through Origin on the following dates:
Source: EA
- Central Asia: Tuesday 9/2/2014 at 00:00 KST
- North America: Tuesday 9/2/2014 at 00:00 EDT
- Russia: Tuesday 9/2/2014 at 11:00 MSK
- Australia: Thursday 9/4/2014 at 00:00 AEST
- Japan: Thursday 9/4/2014 00:00 JST
- EU (Excluding UK and Ireland): Thursday 9/4/201 at 00:00 CEST
- New Zealand: Friday 9/5/2014 at 00:00 NZST
- India: Friday 9/5/2014 at 00:00 IST
- South Africa: Friday 9/5/2014 at 00:00 SAST
- United Kingdom and Ireland: Friday 9/5/2014 at 00:00 GMT/BST
The definitions of the regions are as follows
- Central Asia: Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand; Macau, Brunei, Cambodia, Cocos Islands, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Northern Mariana Islands, Philippines, Viet Nam.
- North America and South America: Brazil, Canada, Mexico, United States; American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Falkland Islands, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Martinique, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Uruguay, Venezuela.
- Russian Federation: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan.
- Australia: Antarctica, Christmas Islands, Cook Islands, Fiji, Heard Island, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Niue, Norfolk Island, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.
- Japan
- EU (Excluding UK and Ireland) : Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland; Luxembourg, French Guyana, French Southern Territories, Mayotte, Monaco, New Caledonia, Polynesia, Reunion, Austria, Liechtenstein, Netherlands Antilles, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia.
- New Zealand: Pitcairn Island, Samoa, Tonga, Wallis and Futuna.
- India: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- South Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Saint Helenan, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Western Sahara, Zambian, Zimbabwe.
- United Kingdom and Ireland: Ireland, Portugal, United Kingdom and any other country not found elsewhere.
If you pre-order on Origin, EA gives you the opportunity to download most of the game a few days early. On release day you only need to download the small rest and then start playing right away.
There is no Beta version of the game but you can download the Sims 4 CAS Demo for free through Origin. Do not download any dubious Beta versions unless you want a virus on your computer.
You can download a 48-trial version or the Sims 4 CAS Demo through Origin. The demo is not available for Mac.
The Sims 4 base game is free as per October 2022. Just download the game.
EA is concentrating on PC at the moment. There is no further info on a Mac version. If you’re on a mac and don’t want to play on Bootcamp, do not preorder the game.
Here’s a great guide on how to run the game with bootcamp on your Mac: [Guide] Running Windows on your Mac.
The game has been released on PC and Mac and since November 2017 also for XBox One and PS4.
The PC/Mac version can be used on both platforms, for XBox One and PS4 they need to be re-bought.
The game will not run on Google Chromebooks or iPads.
The Sims 4 requires Origin or EA app to play, even for the Steam Version.
Minimum Requirements
Operating System: 64 Bit Required. Windows 10 or newer
Processor: 3.3 GHz Intel Core i3-3220 (2 cores, 4 threads), AMD Ryzen 3 1200 3.1 GHz (4 cores) or better
RAM: At least 4 GB
Hard Drive: At least 25 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
DVD-Drive: DVD Rom Drive required for installation only
Graphics Card: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
DirectX: DirectX 11 Compatible
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation and to use the online features such as the gallery.
Recommended Requirements
Operating System: 64 Bit Windows 10 or newer
Processor: Intel core i5 (4 cores), AMD Ryzen 5 or better
RAM: 8 GB RAM
Hard Drive: 50 GB of free space, with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
DVD-Drive: DVD Rom Drive required for installation only. Only applies to the disc version of the game.
Graphics Card: 1 GB of Video RAM, NVIDIA GTX 650, AMD Radeon HD 7750, or better
DirectX: DirectX 11 Compatible
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation and to use the online features such as the gallery.
Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Metal required. Mac OS® X 10.11 (El Capitan)
Processor: Intel Core i3-3225 3.3 GHz (2 cores, 4 threads) or better
RAM: At least 4 GB
Hard Drive: At least 25 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games
Graphics Card: Support for Metal. Intel HD 4000 (Integrated Graphics) or better
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation and to use the online features such as the gallery.
Recommended Requirements
Operating System: Metal required. Mac OS® X 10.11 or later
Processor: Intel Core i5 (4 cores), or better
RAM: At least 8 GB
Hard Drive: At least 50 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games.
Graphics Card: Intel HD and Iris Graphics from the HD 4000 series or newer
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation and to use the online features such as the gallery.
The Legacy Edition will be discontinued starting Dec 12th, 2022
Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), Windows 7 (SP1), Windows 8, or Windows 8.1, Windows 10
Processor: 1.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, AMD Athlon 64 Dual-Core 4000+ or equivalent (For computers using built-in graphics chipsets, the game requires 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.0 GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-62 or equivalent)
RAM: At least 2 GB
Hard Drive: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games. Each Pack needs extra space.
DVD-Drive: DVD Rom Drive required for installation only. Only applies to the disc version of the game.
Graphics Card: 128 MB of Video RAM and support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Supported Video Cards: NVIDIA GeForce 6600 or better, ATI Radeon X1300 or better, Intel GMA X4500 or better
DirectX: DirectX 9.0,10 and 11 Compatible
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation.
Additional Remarks: Any packs released after October 2019 aren’t running with the legacy Edition. Online features such as the gallery do not work.
Recommended Requirements
Operating System: Windows 7,8, or 8.1 or Windows 10
Processor: Intel core i5 or faster, AMD Athlon X4
RAM: At least 4 GB
Hard Drive: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games. Each Pack needs extra space.
DVD-Drive: DVD Rom Drive required for installation only. Only applies to the disc version of the game.
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
DirectX: DirectX 9.0,10 and 11 Compatible
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation.
Additional Remarks: Any packs released after October 2019 aren’t running with the legacy Edition. Online features such as the gallery do not work.
The Legacy Edition will be discontinued starting Dec 12th, 2022
Minimum Requirements
Operating System: Mac OS® X 10.7.5 (Lion)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz Processor or better
RAM: Mindestens 4 GB
Hard Drive: At least 10 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games. Each Pack needs extra space.
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT, ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro or better. Video RAM of 256MB or better
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation.
Additional Remarks: Any packs released after October 2019 aren’t running with the legacy Edition. Online features such as the gallery do not work.
Recommended Requirements
Operating System: Mac OS® X 10.9 or later
Processor: Intel Core i5 or better
RAM: At least 8 GB
Hard Drive: At least 9 GB of free space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content and saved games. Each Pack needs extra space.
Graphics Card: NVIDIA GTX 650 or better
Input Device: Keyboard and Mouse
Online Requirements: Internet connection required for product activation.
Additional Remarks: Any packs released after October 2019 aren’t running with the legacy Edition. Online features such as the gallery do not work.
No. There’s no 64 bit version (Source: SimGuruGraham on twitter).
Since November 2015 the 64 Bit Version is also available for PC (Mac is 64 bit only).
Starting June 2019, Sims 4 will be 64 bit only. EA will release a Legacy Edition for players with a 32 bit operating system that will not get any further updates after June 2019.
Details on both versions can be found here: 64 bit vs. 32 bit
Yes. To install and activate the game on Origin you will need an active Internet connection and an Origin Account (this goes for both the DVD and the Digital Download Version).
Once you’ve activated the game, you can play Sims 4 offline (Origin Offline Mode). No more Internet required
There are a few features like the new gallery that require an active Internet connection.
Sims 4 is available in 5 different editions and depending on what you buy, there’s different stuff coming with it.
Be aware that you’ll need an Internet connection for both the DVD and the download version (Details above)
You’ll receive the following content if you order through Origin. You can only get the digital download version through Origin.
I strongly recommend to only buy Keys through authorized sellers since EA is known to block keys from unauthorized sellers.
Standard
- No Extras
Limited Edition
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather ’round the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
Digital Deluxe
(available to buy separately later at higher cost)
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather around the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Digital Soundtrack: Groove to the music of the game.
- Awesome Animal Hats
EA Play
A EA Play subscription automatically adds the following Sims 4 content to your account.
- The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather around the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Digital Soundtrack: Groove to the music of the game.
- Awesome Animal Hats
- Get To Work
- 10% Member discount on any game you buy through Origin
EA Play Pro
A EA Play Pro subscription automatically adds the following Sims 4 content to your account.
- The Sims 4 Digital Deluxe
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather around the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Digital Soundtrack: Groove to the music of the game.
- Awesome Animal Hats
- Get To Work
- Toddler Stuff
- 10% Member discount on any game you buy through Origin
- Users that have been a member before October 18th will also continue to have access to Dine Out Game Pack and Kids Room Stuff Pack.
Standard
- No Extras
Digital Deluxe
(available to buy separately later at higher cost)
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather around the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Digital Soundtrack: Groove to the music of the game.
- Awesome Animal Hats
Compare SimsVIP Worldwide List for more details on where to buy the DVD Version.
Standard
- No extras
Limited Edition
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather ’round the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
Premium Edition
- Creator’s Guide Hardcover Book: A hardcover guide that teaches you to become a Sims master creator, and also includes art from The Sims 4.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather ’round the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Awesome Animal Hats
Collector’s Edition (only available in select markets)
The collectors edition is not listed for north America and for the UK it’s exclusive to GAME. In Australia/New Zealand it’s available through EB Games and other Retailers.
- Plumbob USB by Steel Series
- Creator’s Guide Hardcover Book: A hardcover guide that teaches you to become a Sims master creator, and also includes art from The Sims 4.
- Up All Night Digital Content: Party till dawn with a laser light show, hot new parties, outfits, decorations and recipes.
- Life of the Party Digital Content: Gather around the Flaming Tiki Bar in spectacular party costumes.
- Awesome Animal Hats
- Digital Soundtrack: Groove to the music of the game.
Sims 4 supports the following languages:
English, German, French, Russian, Polish, Swedish, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Brazilian Portuguese, Czech, Chinese (Traditional), Japanese, and Korean.
Depending on your country, the game releases with different languages.
- UK: Englisch Only
- Poland, Czech, Russia, Ukraine and more: Russian, Polish, Czech
- Rest of Europe, USA/Canada: All Languages available
- Rest of the world: Unknown
There are single language versions out there no matter where you live. Above applies if you buy the game through EA. If you buy the game with a key seller, it’s often unclear what kind of version you’ll get.
Sims 4 has a completely new game engine. Neither Glassbox (SimCity) nor Frostbite (ex. Battlefield) was used.
Yes, It currently caps at 200 fps to support next-gen 200hz displays (Source: SimGuruGraham on Twitter)
No, Sims 4 does not actively support touch screens.
No, Sims 4 does not support Simpoints. You can still use them to buy Sims 3 stuff though.
No, that won’t be possible. Since Sims 4 is a completely new technology, content for Sims 3 does not work for Sims 4 (same goes for Sims 1 or Sims 2 content).
Yes, there’s tons of mods and cc for The Sims 4. Unlike Sims 3 it won’t spread through the gallery either. If you want a download that’s shown on a picture in the gallery in your game, you’ll need to download the Custom Content separately.
