Electronic Arts said more than 15 million players joined The Sims 4 over the past year, according to its Q2 FY25 results published October 29, 2024. That is a player-growth figure—not a report of 15 million sales, paying customers, or people still playing today. EA did not specify the exact dates covered or publish a Sims-specific definition for “players joining.”
What did EA report about The Sims 4’s player growth?
EA’s October 29, 2024 Q2 FY25 results said: “The Sims™ 4 continues to expand, with more than 15 million players joining the game over the past year.” The release does not give exact start and end dates for that year-long period.
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The wording matters. EA reported players joining, not copies sold or revenue generated by those players. It did not say how many remained active after joining, how many purchased paid content, or how the Sims-specific figure was calculated. EA’s May 2024 investor slides describe its player network generally as active accounts used to play EA games and services on any platform in the preceding 12 months, while noting measurement challenges; EA did not identify that general description as the exact method behind this Sims 4 figure. EA’s Q4 FY24 earnings slides
How did The Sims 4 add so many players?
EA has not published a causal breakdown of the 2024 increase. One important piece of context is that the base game became free to download for new players in October 2022. In April 2023, EA and Maxis said more than 16 million new players had downloaded it since that change. They also reported a 53 percent increase in average weekly users in the free-to-download context. Those are historical figures, not an explanation of how many of the more than 15 million players joined in the later year. EA and Maxis’ April 2023 announcement
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- Requires The Sims 4 & all game updates. For PC, see minimum system requirements for the pack.
- Develop Parenting Skills – Level up your Sim’s parenting skills to satisfy their child’s needs and influence their behaviors. Gain new abilities through experience and choosing when to discipline bad actions, encourage good behavior, or just let kids be kids.
- Shape Your Sim’s Childhood – The decisions you make influence how your Sim parents and leave a lasting impact on their child’s future. Each choice shapes their personality, affects their traits, influences their family relationships, and guides their path into adulthood.
- Gather your Sim’s family to participate in new activities and spend quality time with each other. Sims of all ages can work together to complete a variety of school projects, express their creativity using construction blocks, or volunteer their time for good.
- Customize your Sims’ looks and their home with new family fashion and build items. Give the kids’ bedrooms extra personality, remodel the kitchen to feel homier, and let your Sims express their sporty or artistic sides with new outfits.
Free access is therefore a plausible factor in the game’s broader audience growth, but EA’s published figures do not quantify its contribution to the 2024 increase or identify other causes. In that same 2023 announcement, EA said The Sims 4 had passed 70 million players worldwide. That milestone and the later “players joining” figure refer to different measures and periods, so they should not be subtracted or treated as a directly comparable pair of totals.
What the growth figures do—and don’t—tell us
| EA-reported figure | What it measures | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| More than 70 million players worldwide, announced April 2023 | A milestone EA reported for The Sims 4 | A current player count or the number of players added in the following year |
| More than 16 million new players downloaded the game after it became free to download in October 2022, reported April 2023 | Cumulative new downloads in the period EA described | The number of players who joined during the year referenced in October 2024 |
| More than 15 million players joining over the past year, reported October 29, 2024 | EA’s year-over-year player-growth statement; exact dates are not stated | Sales, paying users, retention, or the precise measurement method |
| More than 1.2 billion hours of The Sims 4 play in 2024 | Engagement EA reported in September 2024, including more than 759 million Live-mode hours and more than 303 million Build-mode hours | How much new players played or whether they bought additional content |
EA also reported that players customized more than 640 million Sims in 2024. That, like the hours-played figures, provides an engagement snapshot rather than evidence of spending by the players in the 15-million claim. EA’s September 17, 2024 Sims update
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- Requires The Sims 4 & all game updates. For PC, see minimum system requirements for the pack.
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Does the player increase mean The Sims 4 made more money?
EA said increased engagement led to higher-than-expected net bookings for The Sims franchise in Q2 FY25. That puts player activity and commercial performance in the same earnings update, but it does not show that the new players caused the bookings result or that each new player spent money. EA’s statement concerns the Sims franchise, not a disclosed revenue total attributable to these new The Sims 4 players.
The Sims 4 offers paid downloadable content, but the existence of that content does not connect purchases to the reported growth. EA’s Marketplace help page describes Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, and Maker Packs. Purchase options vary by platform: PC and Mac players can browse and buy in the in-game Marketplace, on the web, or through the EA app; console players must make Marketplace purchases in-game. EA Help: What is The Sims 4 Marketplace?
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- Create unique sims: A variety of sims are yours to personalize, each with distinct appearances, dynamic personalities, and inspiring aspirations
- Build the perfect home: Construct the home of your, and their dreams by planning its layout, choosing furnishings, and altering the landscape and terrain
- Explore vibrant worlds: Travel between locations, discover amazing and distinctive neighborhoods, and encounter captivating venues
- Play with life: Control the rich and entertaining moments of your Sims’ lives from their relationships to their careers
Why a later Sims franchise figure is not a Sims 4 player count
In 2025, EA said The Sims franchise had more than 500 million lifetime players. That is a franchise-wide figure covering the series, not a later total for The Sims 4, and it should not be used as one. EA’s 2025 franchise anniversary announcement
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- Requires The Sims 4 & all game updates. For PC, see minimum system requirements for the pack.
- Customize Kids Rooms – Build kids bedrooms that are both expressive and full of style. Excite your Sim’s imagination with colorful new furniture and themed decorations ranging from space robots to fun flower flourishes.
- Battle with Monsters – Collect and trade monster cards featuring your Sim’s favorite magical creatures. Use cards in the electronic battle station to bring them to life and challenge friends to a monster duel that’s sure to excite.
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- We’ve designed the game to be a live service so that we can continually evolve The Sims 4 experience with exciting new features and content.
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