After way too many leaks, theories, and teasers, the news is finally for-real official: The Sims and The Sims 2 are both being re-released. The Sims is continuing on in its celebration of the series’ 25th anniversary, which is officially on February 4 this year, by bringing back the first two games so those of us with nostalgia for the old days—and those who weren’t alive in the old days—can all enjoy them together.
Yonks back, just after the turn of the millennium—as evidenced by the Y2K-inspired Sims website that gave us serious nostalgia yesterday—The Sims took an unsuspecting world by storm. Or at least I think it did. My handle on the broader gaming culture wasn’t too strong at age eight so I mostly remember waking up early to play The Sims before jumping on the school bus (a real sign of commitment as a child), learning the cheats to make Sims naked, and the ever-present dilemma of trying to think up new rooms that a huge square mansion should have. They usually include one room featuring a solitary grand piano, yes?
To relive that era of strategic suburban survival, you can now pick up The Sims: Legacy Collection including all seven of its expansion packs: Livin’ Large, House Party, Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed, Superstar, and Makin’ Magic for $19.99 on Steam, Epic Games, or the EA App.
Four years later the phenomenon that was The Sims 2 arrived, bringing with it a lot of expanded gameplay that’s become standard for the series like more life stages and aspirations. Oh, and the rise of “stuff pack” DLCs alongside the many expansions.
You can pick up The Sims 2: Legacy Collection also on Steam or the Epic Store for $29.99 which comes with all of the following DLCs:
- The Sims 2: University
- The Sims 2: Nightlife
- The Sims 2: Open for Business
- The Sims 2: Pets
- The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
- The Sims 2: Seasons
- The Sims 2: FreeTime
- The Sims 2: Apartment Life
- The Sims 2: Holiday Party Pack
- The Sims 2: Family Fun Stuff
- The Sims 2: Glamour Life Stuff
- The Sims 2: Happy Holiday Stuff
- The Sims 2: Celebration! Stuff
- The Sims 2: H&M Fashion Stuff
- The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff
- The Sims 2: Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
- The Sims 2: Mansion & Garden Stuff
Alternatively, you can grab the lot in the The Sims: 25th Birthday Bundle for $39.99 (that’s $10 off getting them separately) which also comes with two kits (Throwback Fit and Grunge Revival) for The Sims 4.
Bear in mind that these are definitely not remakes or even remasters—they’re being called re-releases. So what’s actually different in the re-released versions? Well, not a lot, other than the fact that they’ll run on your modern system. Here’s what EA says in its Sims 2 Legacy Collection explainer:
- it can now run on Windows 10 and Windows 11
- it has an updated rendering engine
- it has a more versatile pixel resolution scaling on large monitors
- some legacy and community-reported bugs are fixed
EA says that if you have very old save files laying around for either game they should be compatible with the re-releases. Same goes for mods, in theory.