The Sims 4 releases huge, free update to celebrate horse expansion

Aug 14, 2023

A huge The Sims 4 update is released for free with a wealth of new CAS options, build mode styles, and food, along with bug fixes for almost every DLC pack.

Ken Allsop

Published: Jul 19, 2023

A huge, free The Sims 4 update has just been released, giving you plenty of new ways to express your style and creativity in the best life game. With The Sims 4 Horse Ranch release date galloping around the corner, EA Maxis is giving all Sims 4 players some nice new features to play with for free, with a raft of new items in build mode, new customization options for Create-A-Sim, and bug fixes for some of the most annoying issues across almost every DLC pack.

The Sims 4 update 1.99.264.1030 (or the much simpler 1.78 for those of you on console) is packed with new features that everyone can enjoy, whether you’re planning to jump into Horse Ranch or simply enjoying one of the best free games on PC. First up, a reorganization of Traits has more evenly spread them across the various categories.

CAS gets some additional presets and details, with a focus on improving the game’s diverse character creation toolkit. “Braids and long, flowing hair is important to the cultural identity of Indigenous People in America,” Sim Guru Ash notes. “To reflect this in-game, we are enthused to add three hairstyles in the form of a Double Braid, Single Braid, and Lengthened Hair that extends down to your Sims mid-back.”

In addition to this, Ash adds, “For our East Asian Sims, we have a large selection of new eye presets and brows in tapered, straight, and wavy shapes.” There have also been some new under-eye bags added to the ‘Eye Details’ category, if you want to truly capture that perpetually tired look of someone juggling their career, children, and social life all at once.

Build mode now has access to the ‘Free Camera’ option, helping you more easily look around and plan out your construction and furnishing. This is especially helpful if you’d like to look up at the new customizable ceilings – that’s right, you can now apply patterns and colors to them; gone are the days of bland ceilings ruining your carefully constructed vibe. There are also a bunch of new wall, floor, fence, and door options, each with additional colors.

There’s also updates for most of the best Sims 4 expansion packs. These include very welcome fixes for issues such as the Sims 4 animal aging bug causing pets to die unexpectedly, along with ensuring that your Sims will try to wash their hands in the sink closest to the toilet rather than wandering about the house. You will now have to feed your mermaids, however, so be wary of that!

Here is everything new in the free The Sims 4 patch released on July 18 to prepare for the arrival of The Sims 4 Horse Ranch:

If you want even more fantastic free additions, the best Sims 4 CC packs are full of great community-made options, while the best Sims 4 mods let you take your customization even further with all manner of even fancier updates.