The Sims 4 Marketplace Q&A With EA Community Managers

Question: huh this marketplace is a cool idea

EA Community Manager: glad you think so! we’ve been working on it with Simmers for some time, it’s exciting to finally share the news with you all today

Question: Marketplace seems kinda neat. Not sure how often I’d actually use it though

EA Community Manager: totally optional if you want to or not, we’ll keep delivering bug fixes and free stuff to The Sims 4

Question: So uhm will it be permanently paywalled then? The custom content from the marketplace?

EA Community Manager: Makers can continue to offer free or paid early access custom content and mods on other platforms under our mod policy. However, content made available elsewhere is not eligible for sale through the Marketplace.

Question: Would Script Mods ever be featured on the Marketplace?

EA Community Manager: Hey! not right now, but is that something you’d be interested in?

Question: i dont like the in-game new currency tho why do we have to buy “moola” and not just pay 5 dolalrs directly

EA Community Manager: There is a technical reason for introducing Moola; it works more smoothly across platforms and regions, keeps pricing consistent for players worldwide, and helps ensure Makers are paid fairly and reliably. It also enables us to deliver new Maker content at the scale and pace Makers want.

Question: Can there be any gameplay kits offered by makers as well?

EA Community Manager: for now, it’s just CAS and BB items, no new gameplay, as the Makers are using supported stencils to ensure compatibility.

Question: How is this going to affect the gallery? Is it going to be the case that if someone uploads a build or sim with items from the marketplace and I don’t own them are they just going to be missing when I add them to my game like they are with unowned kits and packs?

EA Community Manager: good question, and yes – anything you download from the gallery that you don’t own will be missing

Question: Is it only CC or also mods?

EA Community Manager: Makers will be selling CAS and BB items, no mods at this time

Question: I am a bit confused if there will still be official kits released in the future. Because I saw new kits will be released but also that stuff will be moved to the marketplace?

EA Community Manager: yes, we will still be releasing official Maxis Kits, but they will be sold via the Marketplace and purchasable with Moola

Question: do you know how many items one of the maker things have? Im curious how many items come with the 1000 mooola japandi set

EA Community Manager: hmm I don’t know! we will need to see at launch on March 17th those specifics

Question: will it be like CC where theres a way to filter out all marketplace content then? I feel like itll be annoying for some people just to find a build/sim they can use with all these new packs

EA Community Manager: yes confirmed! new gallery filters will come with the Marketplace launch

Question: Just to clarify, will it be like the CC one where you tick a box to not show marketplace items?

EA Community Manager: yes correct; one box to tick to hide all Maker Packs

EA Community Manager: Modders and CC creators will still be able to give away their content for free – that isn’t changing, Only game content made with the tools we provide must be distributed via the Marketplace

Question: will creators partnered with the marketplace still be uploading their content elsewhere with normal early access guidelines in place? or are they solely tied to the marketplace?

EA Community Manager: that’s up to them! there is nothing to stop them selling content or giving it away for free elsewhere

Question: And lemme guess, there’s little to no quality control for this?

EA Community Manager: all items sold on the Marketplace goes through human verified quality control

Question: so can you not access these tools without being in the program?

EA Community Manager: this is correct; to access the tools you have to be part of the Maker program

Question: Can we get more info on these tools? Are they the “stencils” referred to in the blog post?

EA Community Manager: The Sims Maker Suite is a toolset designed to help Makers turn their 3D models, textures, and designs into compatible content for The Sims 4. It streamlines the building process and ensures that Maker’s assets receive the latest updates. The suite includes:

• Package building tools for testing content (compatible with retail versions of The Sims 4)
• Stencils that guide how 3D creations are integrated into the game, helping ensure compatibility and correct data hookups
• Free 3D modeling software add-ons to speed up the creation process and check for technical compatibility
• Tools to stay organized as they manage assets, collections and submissions

Question: Actually final question from me atleast but are there any requirements to be part of marketplace or is it just open to any cc creators?

EA Community Manager: You’ll need to pass a Technical Evaluation by submitting 2 examples of your work for review. You’ll also need to be 18 or over, comfortable communicating in English, have an account in good standing, and not reside in an embargoed region. more info here

Question: Is there going to be a monthly sub thing for the program? Or you would be forced to buy stuff individually? It would be really expensive

EA Community Manager: There are no plans to introduce a subscription service or battle pass to The Sims 4. The Sims 4 will continue to be a game with a mix of free base game updates and optional DLC, so you can choose what’s right for you

Question: Are the prices people set subject to human verification? Are there guidelines to keep the prices in line with existing content, I.e. 28 items in a kit is 5 bucks so 7 items on the market is 1.25?

EA Community Manager: It’s a little hard to describe but there are set parameters Makers can pick pricing from depending on how many items are in the Pack, so you can’t charge $100 for 1 item

and you can’t charge $1 for 100 items

it’s designed to be flexible for the Makers to choose from, but also within parameters to prevent something like that

Question: As someone who uses zero mods or cc, none of this interests me. However, as someone who is gifted kits via gift cards for Amazon, I will now no longer be able to get kits. So going forward what I have now is all I’ll have. I can’t afford to buy them on my own and relied on gifts for my expansions, packs, and kits.

EA Community Manager: your process for Expansion Packs will not change – only Kits will be changing with Moola

Question: Oh this sucks. im watching the video now. 10 dollars for a CC set, yeah right SixamCC. 2 dollars for some lipstick. Give me a break. This is ridiculous, these creators are sellouts.

EA Community Manager: I understand this is a big change to the game and how we buy content, but please keep it respectful towards Makers who participate in this program

EA Community Manager: yes, Maxis kits will be 500 Moola

EA Community Manager: I can’t find the chat now, but to confirm, for Makers that have left the program, their content will be delisted to prevent new players from purchasing. Players that have made purchases do not lose their entitlement to the content.

Question: are they able to place that content for download elsewhere? or is it limited bc it used the tools?

EA Community Manager: anything that was made via The Sims 4 tools can only be distributed via the Maketplace, so they wouldn’t be able to give them out on other platforms

Question: It’s a legitimate concern. There are several CC/Mod creators we’ve lost- and other creators/modders take on their work and keep it alive and updated and functioning and available. This platform not having the grace to even have a contingency in place for that isn’t just scummy, it’s very, very sad.

EA Community Manager: in the case of someone passing away, I’m sure we would revisit the best way to handle that. if someone passes away, we would want to handle that sensistively and differently than a standard process

Question: So random question for a Dev I assume…do these new marketplace CC kits have to be base game compatible like regular kits or can they make things for packs some of us already own?? Like say someone wanted to make new washing machines for laundry day??

EA Community Manager: all stencils are Base Game compatible

EA Community Manager: i am still checking on

• how much we can share about the pricing guidelines we give Makers (might not be able to share more until after post launch, but pushing!)
• what changes with Amazon (sounds like potential to buy Moola on Amazon but may vary by location, so trying to triple check before I say anything)
• if there’s any changes to our policy if CC creators take assets from Marketplace (is a legal Q)

Question: I’m still confused after reading the blog and watching the video. Is it all kits that are moving into the marketplace, or just creator kits?

EA Community Manager: When Marketplace launches on PC and Mac on March 17, 2026, Kits will become exclusively available in the in-game Marketplace. Any Kits you already own will remain in your library and ready to play. For console players, the change will happen when the Marketplace arrives on your platform, and we’ll share updates ahead of time. Moving Kits into the Marketplace ensures that we can continue releasing new content without hitting technical or storage limitations. Hope that answers your question!

Question: I have the same thing to say as Kath, where will the Marketplace actually be available? Like EU citizens haven’t really been able to participate in Contests so I’m a little concerned that a lot of our consumer protection laws will stop this from being available to us :C

EA Community Manager: Hey there, so The Marketplace is available in regions where The Sims 4 is currently supported, subject to local regulations and platform requirements. If you’re able to purchase content now, you should have no problem accessing content in the Marketplace from your region!

Question: Will lots/sims with marketplace items still be filtered out if we search without the allow cc box checked?

EA Community Manager: Great question. There is a different filter system. Anything that is a Maker Pack has its own filter in BB/CAS and on the gallery. CC and Maker Packs are sorted differently!

Question: rip to kit code drops and thanks to all the community managers and admin that were so generous with those thus far

EA Community Manager: Hey y’all! Just wanted to post some clarification on this.

Kits that currently already exist will still be redeemable by code (and can have new codes generated) beyond the Marketplace launch, and there will be no end-date to this. Only future Kits that will be released on the Marketplace will not have code redemption. We’re still going to continue our Kit code drops! Those won’t be going anywhere

Q&A Update #1

Question: I just dislike the marketplace thing a lot

EA Community Manager: that’s ok, you are allowed to

we’re all Simmers in here and we want what’s best for the game and each other

Question: do we know yet if this marketplace stuff is update safe? or do we have to pay for stuff which can get broken?

EA Community Manager: All Marketplace content is human-reviewed before release to help ensure it is safe and playable. Safety reviews are guided by our Positive Play Charter. Maker content may differ from The Sims team’s content in style and visual approach, allowing Makers the freedom for creative expression.

Question: Would you guys allow generative ai content made by a creator for the marketplace? Or just a case by case basis

EA Community Manager: No use of AI is allowed. Makers are required to create original content.

Question: They need to make sure not to mix “Official Content” with their “Moo” content and to clarify if the “CC Content” from this store is online or/and offline available! As these are valid reasons, because it changes how you need to treat your saves, especially if you are limited in use, as you purchase those items with REAL money!

EA Community Manager: All players must be online while playing The Sims 4 to access the Marketplace. You can still play The Sims 4 offline, but the Marketplace will be unavailable except for viewing your Collection.

Question: Maybe I do misunderstand – it sounds to me that it is in the Collection (but it’s not in my save when I’m offline! For that I would need to be online—or those get removed if they are online. This is what I understand based on the words I read. Am I understanding it wrong?

EA Community Manager: sorry for the confusion! Online to browse the Marketplace and purchase, but once you’ve bought the items and downloaded them you can continue to play Offline

Question: Safe and playable isn’t the same as high quality and correctly tagged though

EA Community Manager: we’re only accepting Makers into the program who pass our technical requirements for quality

Question: sorry if this has been answered already, I’ve only just finished work. I tried scrolling back but I couldn’t find an answer. what will happen with current creator kits? Will they stay as they are and worth 500 moola (I think that’s what current EA kits will be??), or will the creators be able to change the price/grouping if they become makers?

EA Community Manager: the Creator Kits will stay the same, apart from only being purchasble with Moola via the Marketplace

Question: I have a question. I see cc creators that make custom food and drinks. Does that mean we’ll be able to have them in game?

EA Community Manager: yes! anything you saw in our video will be purchasable in the Marketplace and works in TS4