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As we start a new year, there are plenty of gaming anniversaries that are worth celebrating in 2025, and there’s arguably nothing more this month than The Sims’ 25th anniversary.
For those unaware, The Sims gameplay is of life simulation that allows players to create people, known as ‘Sims,’ and build a world around them. This can include places like schools, shops, and more, as well as arranging situations such as relationships, children, and even death.
The first Sims game debuted in 2000, being developed by Will Wright, previously known for the ‘SimCity’ series that involved players creating a city and maintaining it. Wright first had the idea for The Sims after his house burned down in 1991, which included all of his possessions. After rebuilding much of his life, he was inspired to create a game from this, but he had a lot of pushback with the concept throughout the 90s.
Eventually, the first Sims game saw a release on PC in February 2000 and was a near-instant hit, becoming the best-selling PC game of that year and 2001. At the time of writing, The Sims 4, released in 2014 and became free-to-play in 2022, is still being maintained by developer Maxis, with 17 expansions available.
A new Sims game is in development, but there hasn’t been much news since its first announcement in 2022.
Nevertheless, to mark the 25th anniversary of The Sims, we’ve listed five memorable moments from the series to celebrate this landmark.
Key Takeaways
- The Sims, developed by Maxis, first debuted on the PC in February 2000.
- Game designer Will Wright was inspired to develop the series after his house burnt down in 1991, where he had to replace all his worldly possessions.
- The series has collected a bunch of Guinness World Records, such as ‘Best Selling PC Gaming Series’, with around 50 million copies sold worldwide.
- The Sims is well known for its many expansion packs, with the latest game, The Sims 4, currently offering 17 of them.
- The next game in the series, codenamed ‘Project Rene,’ was announced back in 2022, which isn’t a sequel nor a spin-off to The Sims.
- Show Full Guide
5 Memorable Moments From The Sims
Fire
Like any soap opera, a fire can bring drama and tragedy to any storyline, and that’s much the same when it comes to The Sims. A fire can be the result of a party going out of control, an oven being left alone while a Sim goes to work, and much more. Most of the time, fires can be extinguished, but if left to fester, the house you’ve spent so much time building could be no more than ash, with the Grim Reaper possibly knocking to collect any souls.
Love Is All Around
One famous trope of The Sims is romance. This has been something that’s been a staple ever since the first Sims game, and like any soap opera, love can change a storyline from being good to great. A romance could blossom so much that you would end up arranging the wedding and eventually children if the couples remained happy.
To note, same-sex couples couldn’t be together or marry in the first game, but developer Maxis, fortunately changed this in The Sims 2, released in 2004, where any gender could fall in love and marry.
A Tragic Clown
Introduced in the expansion pack to the first game, The Sims: Livin’ Large brought the Tragic Clown to the game, meant to cheer up Sims if their mood has become very low. He appears at other moments, too, such as appearing if a painting of him is owned or if the family is in hard times, financially.
However, he doesn’t cheer anyone up — instead, he becomes a hindrance, lowering the moods of your Sims even lower, and he can be very difficult to remove.
The Grim Reaper
If you’re a long-standing player of The Sims, you’ve likely met the Grim Reaper a bunch of times in your playthroughs. For those unaware, this character will appear whenever a Sim or a pet has met their maker. It could involve fire, drowning, electrocution, and much more. When it does happen, the Grim Reaper will appear uninvited, meeting with the deceased to take them to the afterlife.
It’s a fast process for a Sim but almost pleasant, and if nothing else, adds to the drama of your Sims. To note, when a pet dies, such as a dog, Grim Reaper throws a bone toward a portal for a pet to follow, adding to the feeling that a Sim’s death doesn’t need to be terrifying; it can be like meeting a friend.
Seeing a Ghost
Death isn’t the end for a Sim. Rather, they will often appear between midnight and sunrise near their grave or at the house where they lived, but not always. A living Sim won’t be able to see them, but the ghost can spook them, laughing and then disappearing, while the Sim will be terrified.
It’s surprises like these that give more depth to a player’s Sim family, that even after death, Sims ghosts will still be around, ready to spook someone.
The Bottom Line
One of the reasons that The Sims has lasted for 25 years is mainly due to how the player can effectively be God and create soap operas. Marriages can be made and broken down, death could strike anyone at any time, or everyone could have a happy-ever-after ending.
Plenty of memorable moments are arguably made from what the player wants their Sims to be, but there are also moments, like the five listed above, that have happened to most in varying and surprising ways.
With Project Rene reportedly being tested by longtime Sims players, it’s hoped that more moments can be made than previous entries and expansions have been able to do. If this game can achieve that, developer Maxis may have another hit on its hands that could prolong the series for another 25 years.
