The third Sims 4 Expansion Pack of 2025 is right around the corner. Adventure Awaits, a vacation-themed DLC, just received its first full trailer following a few leaks and a quick teaser. It’s crammed full of new build items, activities, and seemingly a new world. There’s even going to be a total overhaul of the current vacation system.
From Getaways to traits to a possible new career, a few things really caught my eye about the upcoming DLC. Here’s a quick rundown of what I’m super excited to play with.
Letting Sims indulge in their competitive sides
I love a new trait. Especially since the self-discovery and grief mechanics from Growing Together and Life & Death both made personalities more flexible. Learning about ourselves and changing over time? We love to see it!
The new Competitive trait teased in the trailer looks like it’s going to be a treat. There’s always someone on vacation who has to do the most, or to ‘complete’ their destination by ticking everything off their itinerary. I think the trait could really help with giving vacations a little more direction in the game, to help set it apart from the daily churn.
I’m particularly curious about how it’s going to be earned. The UI in the trailer suggests to me that it’s going to be a reward trait, meaning Sims would have to earn it from an aspiration or experience. What pushes a Sim to be so cut-throat? Particularly on vacation?
Becoming a Camp Director
It’s easy to expect most of Adventure Awaits to be super kid-centric. A lot of the trailer focuses on fun for the kids in the shape of an activity-packed summer camp – but it looks like it’s going to be fun for the young at heart, too. Older Sims can become Camp Directors, possibly as a direct follow-on from enjoying camp as a child.
It isn’t clear right now how the Camp Director feature is going to work, but I’m hoping it might be a new career. I find this exciting for a couple of reasons. First off, I enjoy the management aspect of running or operating anything. I’m ready to run that camp like the Navy. Or maybe just Theatre Camp.
Secondly, I never got the chance to play the Daycare career in The Sims 3. It’s arguably one of the most widely talked about, fondly remembered parts of that whole generation. Being a Camp Director is surely pretty similar. Maybe it’ll wash away all my FOMO?
Creating customised vacation venues
Building is one of my absolute favourite parts of The Sims 4. So, anything that adds additional functionality or new lot types is good in my books.
I’m obviously hyped about all of the new Build/Buy Mode items. Fully customisable play equipment with seemingly modular slides and twisty tunnels to crawl through? Yes please. There are loads of other cute, rustic furniture pieces kicking around in the trailer that I can see myself using plenty, too, like the clunky desk fan and the mesh moth trap (maybe?) used in Camp Gibbi Gibbi.
It isn’t just the items themselves that I’m into, either. “Customising” venues is explicitly mentioned in the trailer, which is an interesting premise. Venues have had a couple of overhauls across a few recent packs. Businesses & Hobbies and For Rent both introduced new kinds of multifunctional lots.
If Adventure Awaits continues in the same vein, then it’s probably safe to assume that getaway venues are going to have a lot of scope to play with.
Fine-tuning Getaways with cross-pack integration
Towards the end of the trailer, a Sim is enjoying an active holiday to the max: they’re taking a spin class, then lifting weights, then going for a dip – wait, a spin class? How can you host a spin class without another pack, like Businesses & Hobbies?
Cross-pack functionality in this Expansion is probably going to do some heavy lifting. If we can build resorts or other vacationing venues, then other DLC is going to be fundamental for packing them full of activities. Personally, I can’t wait to try building a rock climbing retreat on Mt. Komorebi or a romantic getaway hotspot in Ciudad Enamorada.
That one bird
Right at the end of the trailer, when the info is up about the pre-order bonuses, the man of the hour appears: that one little blue bird that everyone was talking about on r/TheSims. It’s a South Island takahē, a flightless bird found across Aotearoa, or New Zealand.
Thanks to this little petrol-coated guy, we can pinpoint Adventure Await’s new world pretty neatly. Although he’s the cutest hint, he’s not the only breadcrumb dropped in the trailer. The rocky region shown while the older couple snaps a selfie in front of a geyser is reminiscent of the Whakarewarewa Thermal Valley, which is home to many famous geysers in the Taupō Volcanic Zone.
As well as the more immediate clues, there was some speculation kicking around during the Sim Your Summer season that the next world would be New Zealand-themed. Enchanted By Nature’s world was suspected to be inspired by the region, in part because of Innisgreen’s leafy green hills, and in part because of the hobbit homes used in promo materials.
