Players Can Unlock All Premium Content For This Sims Game, But There’s A Catch
The Sims is known for many things, from its iconic plumbob to the nonsense poetry of Simlish echoing across a single lot. Unfortunately, it’s also known for paywalls. Paid add-ons have been part of the series since the beginning, but The Sims 4 truly perfected the art of fragmentation. It normalized slicing up its content into Expansion Packs, Game Packs, Stuff Packs, and Kits that can quietly balloon into a four-figure investment at full price. For most Simmers, this is exorbitant.
The Sims has never been a cheap fantasy. So when one of its games suddenly offers all of its premium content for free, it doesn’t sound generous so much as suspicious. It even sounds like a cruel prank. And yet, that’s exactly what’s happening—at least on paper. For a brief window, one Sims game is throwing open every door it once locked behind microtransactions, offering players a version of the game that’s finally complete. The catch isn’t in what’s being unlocked, but in who’s actually still able to step inside.
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The Sims Mobile Is Offering All Standard and Premium Content For Free
The Sims Mobile launched in 2018 and made Simming a little more portable. Unlike The Sims Freeplay, Mobile offered more modern gameplay that came as close to The Sims 4’s graphics and mechanics as possible. After a little over 7 years on the App Store and the Google Play Store, it will be sunsetting. Its last day online will be January 20, 2026.
But not all is doom and gloom for Sims Mobile fans. As a final gesture for players, all Build Mode and Create-a-Sim (CAS) items will be available for free. Starting on January 6, players’ in-game levels and quest completion statuses will no longer determine the content they can access. Additionally, no in-game purchases will be required to access either premium or standard content.
A Gesture for Simmers Who Stuck Around
Unlocking all premium content at the end of a live-service game’s lifespan isn’t unique to The Sims Mobile, even if it feels surprising within a franchise so closely associated with monetization. When a game is approaching shutdown, paid content often loses its value as a revenue stream while still representing a meaningful part of the experience. Removing those barriers ensures that remaining players can engage with the game as fully as possible before servers go dark.
This approach inevitably minimizes friction during the sunset period. With real-money purchases disabled and progression systems no longer relevant, unlocking items in The Sims Mobile becomes less about generosity and more about preservation. It allows The Sims Mobile to exist, briefly, in a version closer to what many players wished it had been all along: a complete Sims experience without constant gates.
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There’s a Big Catch: Most Simmers Will Not Be Able to Access The Sims Mobile’s Free Content
The idea of enjoying two weeks of free content is a dream for Simmers familiar with paywalls. However, many players looking to hop in on the final weeks of fun may not be able to. The Sims Mobile was delisted from the App Store and Google Play Store on October 21, 2025, following a final update the day prior. All real-money purchases were disabled that day. Additionally, all players received unlimited energy and Festival Passes.
Can I Still Play The Sims Mobile?
Are some things too good to be true? Maybe. However, some lucky Simmers may still be able to play The Sims Mobile under specific conditions. Here are some loopholes that could still let you play the game before its shutdown:
- Straightforward way of accessing The Sims Mobile: Any player who was actively playing the game before its October 21st removal from app stores doesn’t need to worry. Just log on January 6, play on until January 20, and enjoy.
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Accessing The Sims Mobile after delisting: There’s still some hope for players. Although it’s under very specific circumstances, some inactive players may still be able to download The Sims Mobile. The key is having downloaded it at any point during its 7-year run.
- Android players: If you accessed the game via Google Play Store and already have the app downloaded, it should have updated automatically on October 20. If you have previously deleted the app but want to reinstall it, you can do so by going to the ‘My Apps & Games’ section. Then access your ‘App Library’ to locate it and redownload it.
- iOS players: To re-download The Sims Mobile, open the Apple App Store, go to ‘My Purchases,’ and search for the game. If you have trouble updating it this way, try deleting the app and then redownloading it. This new download will include the latest version of the game.
A Complete Sims Experience—Arriving Just a Little Too Late
There’s something quietly bittersweet about The Sims Mobile becoming most generous at the very end of its life. For players who stuck with the game over the years, the sudden removal of paywalls feels like a victory that came after the battle was already over. For everyone else, it’s a reminder of how fleeting live-service games can be. Even ones tied to a franchise as enduring as The Sims. In its final weeks, The Sims Mobile offers a glimpse of what unrestricted play could look like on a smaller scale. It’s not a reinvention, and it won’t change the game’s legacy, but it does provide a moment of closure. The full experience is there now. Just not for everyone, and not for very long.