The Sims 4: Love Expansion Pack The news may have leaked so early and so thoroughly that you might have been convinced it had already been announced, but in fact, we’ve only just officially learned that the romance add-on – the centerpiece of TS4’s 24-year summer content plan for Season of Love – will soon be a reality.
This isn’t the first time The Sims series has turned its attention to relationship matters. The original game launched with the famous Hot Date expansion in 2001, and The Sims 2: Nightlife even featured a matchmaking service, albeit one featuring a slightly insensitive old woman who, er, wise, would use magic to bring your perfect partner down from the sky. The Sims 4 was a bit more modern, doing away with the summoning spells (and the racism) and letting your Sims simply join dating apps.
Surprisingly, Cupid’s Corner doesn’t attempt to pun on Tinder, Bumble, or the like, but is instead just a generic name for a dating app, which is a bit disappointing given The Sims 4’s history of hilarious non-brand names (mistaking “Etsy” for “Plopsy,” anyone?) This also seems to be the main selling point of the expansion, although there’s also a lot of peripheral activity surrounding the new and improved dating mechanics, including the addition of a series-first Relationship Advisor career track and accompanying skills for all you aspiring love gurus out there.
Introducing a dating system that better reflects the realities of modern romance has long been on The Sims 4 fans’ wishlist, and EA seems to be working hard to give it to fans (see also: babies, horses, apartments). This means that soon your single Sims will no longer have to rely on disappointing encounters with random NPCs they meet on the street – soon, they can also meet random NPCs online and experience disappointing encounters!
You’ll also finally be able to determine your Sims’ excitement and aversions once again, build relationship context between two lovebirds through new romance dynamics (similar to the family dynamics introduced in Growing Together), and have them pursue new romance-related aspirations – all set against the backdrop of the newly added city of Ciudad Enamorada.
The Sims 4: Love is coming to the market on July 25 Available for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox. If you buy the bundle between June 27 and September 5, you’ll also get a three-item pre-order bonus that’s available everywhere right now.
