EA has made it official: they’re bringing back The Sims and The Sims 2, along with a selection of expansion packs, right on time to celebrate the franchise’s 25th anniversary.
The Sims Legacy Collection is a nostalgic treat, bundling the original Sims game together with some classic expansions like Livin’ Large, House Party, Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed, Superstar, and Makin’ Magic. Plus, they’ve thrown in The Sims 4’s Throwback Fit Kit for good measure.
For fans of the sequel, The Sims 2: Legacy Collection delivers with the base game, accompanied by a rich lineup of expansions including University, Nightlife, Open for Business, Pets, Bon Voyage, and Seasons, to name just a few. It also features the likes of Holidays and special stuff packs like Kitchen & Bath Interior Design and Mansion & Garden. And yes, you’ll find The Sims 4: Grunge Revival included as well.
Here’s a quirky catch for IKEA enthusiasts: the beloved IKEA Home Stuff pack isn’t part of The Sims 2 package this time around. Both legacy collections are up for grabs as a combo in The Sims: 25th Birthday Bundle.
For a bit of history, the original Sims made its big debut back in 2000, while The Sims 2 followed in 2004. Although this marks the first reissue of the initial game, EA did offer The Sims 2 packs in The Ultimate Collection, available through Origin from 2014 until 2018. There was even a period when you could score it for free if you could prove ownership of a disc copy. I vividly remember a college day when I had an EA rep on one line and my mom scouring my childhood bedroom on the other!
Even if you’ve held onto those early versions, running them on modern computers has become a bit of a tech quest, with lots of strange graphic hiccups. This rerelease promises smoother operations on Windows 10 and 11, hopefully without those pesky black boxes and other visual glitches.