The Sims 4 Growing Together expansion and free update

The Sims 4 is about to receive a new expansion pack, Growing Together, which launches on March 16th. This expansion pack is set to enrich the game experience, providing a plethora of new features and improvements that are sure to satisfy fans. But it’s not just the expansion that’s making waves; a base-game update will also be patched into all copies of The Sims 4 on March 14th, providing even more goodies to enjoy.

For players who are looking for a more realistic experience, Growing Together will offer new systems that deepen the relationships between Sims. Grandparents can now choose their favourite grandchild to give treats to, while infants will have a range of personality traits that shape their growth. Moreover, Sims will now have to share similar interests to become friends or love interests, making family dynamics more important than ever before.

These are just some of the highlights of what you can expect from the latest Sims 4 content. Let’s take a closer look at what’s included in the free update and what’s exclusive to the expansion pack.

Firstly, the good news is that infants will not be exclusive to the Growing Together expansion. A free update is coming to all base-game owners on March 14th, which includes infants and all their Create-A-Sim items. The new life state, which falls between newborns and toddlers, is described by EA as being “incredibly reliant upon older members of the family.” Unlike toddlers, who can be taught to use the potty and feed themselves, infants require constant attention. The update will include a range of new items, such as cribs, high chairs, bassinets, and infant or toddler-specific Create-A-Sim and build mode features. There will even be cribs that can be converted into toddler beds, saving precious Simoleons.

As a new life state, infants have six personality types and 18 quirks that can be triggered as you play. For instance, your child may become a fussy eater when trying new food. These characteristics make infants more realistic and responsive to their environment.

Infants’ age will vary depending on whether or not you own Growing Together. For base-game owners, infants will be around eight months old in real-life baby habits, meaning lots of crawling about right off the bat. In Growing Together, infants will gradually get bigger and age up progressively from two to ten months old before becoming toddlers.

In addition to the base-game additions, you can purchase Growing Together to enhance the experience further. This expansion pack provides more nuanced lifestyle tweaks that affect not only infants but also other aspects of the game. Here are some of the features you can expect:

• San Sequoia, a new suburban coastal town with smaller neighbourhoods, beaches, and parks.
• Baby changing stations, last seen in The Sims 2 and 3.
• Back harnesses to carry your infant around for easier caregiving.
• A new baby shower event type.
• Lifetime milestones and unlockable rewards.
• Four new child aspirations.
• Treehouses.
• New interactions between adults and children, such as teaching them to ride a bike and giving grandchildren treats.
• Friendship bracelet-making.
• Social compatibility influenced by likes, dislikes, and personality traits, displayed as puzzle piece icons in the friends panel.
• Nursery items, including bassinets, toys, llamas, sensory toys, and baby gates.
• “Have Science baby” – two Sims, regardless of gender, can have a baby together (no pregnancy involved, just select the interaction and the baby will arrive).
• Birthmarks and stretch marks.
• Select whether a Sim can produce milk in Create-A-Sim.
• Various inter-pack features, such as knitting baby clothes if you have Nifty Knitting.

The Growing Together expansion pack launches on March 16 on all platforms and can be pre-ordered from the EA store for £34.99 / US$39.99. With so many new features and improvements, this expansion pack promises to be a game-changer for The Sims 4.