At this point, The Sims 4 is basically synonymous with DLC. Over the past decade, EA have churned out an honestly unfathomable amount of additional, paid-for content to pair with their flagship life simulator.
In turn, the title has turned into a modular mix-and-match simulation experience where gamers can choose exactly how they want to play with life.
With around 100 (genuinely) options available, there’s DLC to suit every kind of playstyle. Looking for an Expansion Pack all about horses? You’ve got it. Or maybe a Game Pack just for werewolf gameplay? They’ve got that, too. Or, hear me out, a Stuff Pack about doing laundry? Well, I can’t see why you’d want it, but you can get it.
Although The Sims 4’s onslaught of extra content shows no signs of stopping, it has kind of changed throughout the title’s lifespan. That change is most noticeable through a shift in the type of content being released.
The Sims DLC: A short recap
Extra, paid-for content has almost always been a part of The Sims’ model. It all started with Livin’ Large, the first Expansion Pack for The Sims. For the entirety of the game’s first generation, additional content was pushed out as full Expansion Packs. There were no kits, Stuff Packs, or anything else of the sort.
Then came along The Sims 2. Again, Expansion Packs were an integral part of this generation of The Sims – but this time, they weren’t alone. A new kind of DLC dropped, known as Stuff Packs. These Stuff Packs were peculiar little bundles of items for either Create-a-Sim or Build/Buy Mode, all based around a theme.
DLC exploded a little with The Sims 3 generation. There were still Expansion Packs and Stuff Packs – with Game Packs and kits remaining totally unheard of – but there was now also The Sims Store.
In case you’re lucky enough not to remember (or know about) The Sims Store, I’ll give you the whistlestop tour. The Sims Store is an online shop where you buy in-game items, worlds, builds, and other content with real money.
It was incredibly expensive, and you would see items from The Sims Store in Build/Buy Mode while playing The Sims 3. It was a total drag, and probably sowed the seed for The Sims 4’s eventual Expansion bloat.
Now, of course, we’re up to The Sims 4. The Sims 4 has an honestly bizarrely varied list of available types of DLC, consisting of Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, Kits, and Creator Kits. Alongside, of course, the occasional free item drop or time-limited event.
The Sims 4 DLC, explained
The Sims 4 has a lot of DLC. Both a lot as in quantity, and also a lot as in variety. As mentioned, The Sims 4’s DLC gets categorised in one of five ways.
Think of it like a pyramid of hierarchy: Expansion Packs are the largest DLC, forming the base of the pyramid. Game Packs are on top of that, as the second largest, followed by Stuff Packs. Kits and Creator Kits form the pyramid’s peak, each kind of sharing the top spot.
Within a few months of The Sims 4’s launch, Expansion, Game, and Stuff Packs all already existed. Clearly, they were a part of the game plan from the start. For the next few years, a mixture of the three types of DLC launched in dribs and drabs.
Flash forward to early 2021, and the first Kits came out: The Throwback Fit and Country Kitchen Kits. Eventually, in 2024, Creator Kits landed on the scene with the Sweet Slumber Party and Cozy Kitsch kits.
As a rule of thumb, Expansion, Game, and Stuff Packs all introduce their own game mechanics. By and large, Kits do not – with the Bust the Dust Kit being a distinct exception. Kits and Creator Kits both mirror what Stuff Packs used to be by providing small collections of decorative content for you to use in-game.
That’s pretty different from the model set out by The Sims 2, wherein Stuff Packs were just… Stuff. Instead, Stuff Packs actually do things, while Kits are just stuff.
Seems a little convoluted, right?
Did Kits mark the end of other kinds of DLC?
Ever since Kits launched, there’s been a fall in Game Packs and Stuff Packs being released. In that time, there have been three Game Packs and two Stuff Packs. Admittedly, that sounds like a lot – it’s only been a few years – but considering the number of Kits and Expansion Packs that have launched in that time, it’s a stark number.
For context, since 2021, we’ve seen the release of almost 50 Kits and 10 Expansion Packs. That’s about half of all the Expansion Packs ever released for The Sims 4, all being released since Kits launched.
It really seems like Kits – and honestly, maybe Expansion Packs – have replaced Game and Stuff Packs altogether. In a roundabout way, it’s even backed up by leaks that were previously shared by Anadius (back before they departed from the community).
Anadius used to share leaks about upcoming, unreleased Sims content. When doing so, they would share the accompanying internal codes used to designate the order and type of content coming out. For example, Expansion Packs would be signalled by an “EP” followed by two numbers.
You might expect, in that case, that Kits would be signalled with a “KT”, right? Or just a “K”?
Wrong. They’re actually labelled with “SP,” like Stuff Pack. To me, this suggests that Kits have directly replaced Stuff Packs internally.
Are we going to get any more Game Packs or Stuff Packs?
I honestly think it’s over for Game Packs and Stuff Packs. Stuff Packs started to expand beyond what they used to be, and now seem to have been replaced by Kits, which operate more like how Stuff Packs used to work.
I know, it’s confusing.
As for Game Packs, well, I think they’ve been consumed by Expansion Packs. We haven’t had one since Werewolves back in 2022, and I don’t think they’re coming back for any full moons any time soon.
But that’s just my opinion. It’s hard to guess what EA’s game plan is. Ever. And, especially right now. Maybe I’m wrong, and the new year will see the release of hundreds of Game and Stuff Packs.
…And, would we actually want them if they did come back?
The end of Game and Stuff Packs wouldn’t be totally a bad thing. Expansion Packs bring a lot more content than Stuff Packs or Game Packs possibly could. And, it’s way easier to just skip Kits you aren’t interested in than it is to pass over Stuff or Game Packs, since you won’t be missing out on any substantial game mechanics.
It wouldn’t be totally great either, though. Expansion Packs are expensive – especially when they come out so quickly. Game Packs and Stuff Packs cost a fraction of the price, giving you the option to freshen up your saves without dropping loads of money on them. That’s useful, since can’t all use a money tree or a cash trash can, y’know?
So, having the option of grabbing a smaller, cheaper pack with some other interesting features was always fun. Plus, some ideas don’t exactly fit neatly with bigger Expansions, meaning you get the chance to experiment more with something a little off-the-wall without having to get a whole other Expansion about something you’re not interested in.
I’m not totally sure if I would welcome Game or Stuff Packs back with open arms. I do, however, find the pivot back to the tactics of The Sims 2 days midway through The Sims 4’s lifecycle to be just a little odd.
And I would love to be able to grab some content that falls somewhere between “here’s a huge volume of new features” and “here’s twenty new plants for your builds.”
