Going over the current legacy of things for Electronic Arts, the publisher is embracing live-service titles. And with this comes its flagship properties going free-to-play. So far, the most profitable being Apex Legends. Originally, the IP was sourced from Titanfall which was a premium series selling at full price. But as of May 2022, the battle royale has grossed over $2 billion as a free game.
Moving forward, reports surfaced that other franchises could adopt this as well. Looking at Battlefield 2042, the shortcomings of the newest installment influenced executives to consider the change, @_Tom_Henderson_ reports. Additionally, internal reports also claimed Halo Infinite – another free-to-play title – is to blame for the swift downfall of Battlefield 2042 as well.
Now this month, Electronic Arts is now finally making the move, and for a game you might not expect. In that, The Sims 4 officially goes free for all platforms. You can watch the official launch trailer in the video below:
“We’ve welcomed millions of players to The Sims™ and watched in awe as they unleashed their imaginations, discovered and connected with ideas, experiences and versions of themselves, both in-game and real life. Our community has continued to inspire us with the billions of unique Sims they’ve created, the countless stories they’ve told, and the remarkable builds they’ve designed.”
The blog post continus, “We’re excited to continue to welcome in more players than ever to create new stories, and explore without boundaries. The Sims has always been about celebrating new ways to play and offers so many possibilities to discover. […] The Sims 4 base game will be available to all new players to download for free.”
Noted, this is only the base game as additional content will still be up for purchase, Maxis clarifies with new content on the way. “With The Sims 4 going free to play, our team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful The Sims 4 experiences for our players and we will continue to develop and release packs, kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future.”
Are you excited The Sims 4 is now free to download?
The Sims 4 is available for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Source: Maxis
