Quality of Life Roadmap for The Sims 4: 2026 Edition

Over the past 6 months, we’ve been sharing how we’re continuing to prioritize stability, performance, and acting on long-standing community feedback in The Sims 4. In September, we introduced our Quality of Life roadmap and then in November we updated you on progress. 

Today, we’re sharing a look at our 2026 Quality of Life initiative focused on improving reliability, and reducing gameplay friction across some of the most frequently discussed areas. It’s about making the game you already play feel smoother, intuitive, and more consistent, based directly on player feedback shared in EA Forums, The Sims Discord, and more. 

While the timing and specifics may vary, here’s a look at what we’re planning to focus on over the upcoming months; 

March through August 

We’re going to be investigating improvements on these areas:

• Sim autonomy: such as Sims choosing inappropriate locations for certain actions, being obsessed with certain objects, or NPC interrupting conversations and other behaviors. Additionally, a large focus on improving Sim sleeping behavior and eyelid animations. 
• Infant improvements: improving infant and caregiver autonomy, plus ensuring infants receive the correct milestones, interactions, and buffs. 
• Crashes and data loss: including fixes for black photo issues and the game freezing or crashing.

Our next batch of fixes coming in March is currently being tested by QV, where we’re expecting to ship around 55 fixes, including fixes for 7 of 10 top issues reported by players. Plus, we’ll be updating Sim autonomy improvements based on feedback we collected via our Discord community and votes in the EA Forums. Thanks to everyone who shared their feedback. 

Look for our Laundry List in the coming weeks that will list out all the specific fixes!

September through December: 

Later on this year, we’ll move our focus to improvements to these key themes, which might include issues like; 

• Dining & meal behavior: issues surrounding Sims eating and drinking, plus improving the overall dining experience. 
• Family trees & relationships: strengthening genealogy systems and relationship tracking to protect the important stories built across generations.
• But wait, there’s more! We’ll respond to player feedback as we get nearer to this time to decide what to prioritize next. 

The Year Ahead

The exact timing of these fixes will depend on our investigations, as some areas require deeper technical investigation. We’ll continue sharing progress, highlighting what feedback has shaped our priorities, and adjusting focus areas as needed.

We will provide updates alongside each release so you can see what has been improved and what is still in progress.

Thank you for continuing to share your feedback and experiences with us. Your input directly informs the work we prioritize.