Posted in: Electronic Arts, Games, The Sims 4, Video Games | Tagged: Maxis, The Sims

The Sims 4 Adds New Update Preparing For Next Expansion

The Sims 4 has a new update out now to prepare for a the Enchanted by Nature expansion, as things can get a little greener

Published Sat, 05 Jul 2025 12:13:03 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

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Article Summary

The Sims 4 rolls out a free update ahead of the Enchanted By Nature expansion release.
Build glass-walled greenhouses and add rooftop plants with new Build Mode options for stunning homes.
Sim Inventory and Household Collections get major usability upgrades for easier sorting and tracking.
The refreshed Notebook offers better navigation, category pages, and discovery badges for your Sims.

Electronic Arts and Maxis released a free update this week for The Sims 4, as they prepare the game for a new expansion soon. Essentially "planting the seeds" for the upcoming Enchanted By Nature expansion, you now have the ability to create greenhouses with glass walls and roofs, and be able to select and add several new plants, shrubs, and flowers on the roof of your homes using the "Roof Sculptures" option. You'll also notice upgrades to the Notebook and bug fixes for several other expansion packs. We have the main additions below from their latest blog, which has the finer details.

The Sims 4 Adds New Update Preparing For Next Expansion — Credit: Electronic Arts

The Sims 4 – Planting Seeds

Sim Inventory Improvements

Do your Sims have a lot of STUFF in their Inventory? We've made life a little easier with some usability improvements!

New Ways to Sort: You can now sort your Sim's Inventory by "New," which is the default option in the dropdown menu. Newly obtained items will appear at the top with a special badge. Additional sort options include "Price", "Filter", "Crafted Quality", and "Rarity". This also applies to object inventories such as Fridges, Bookcases, and other storage objects.
Spoiled Foods: Spoiled foods have a red background to indicate they've gone bad. They are grouped into a "Spoiled" stack with a trash icon.
Spoiled Items Handling: Once items spoil, they move from their original stack to the spoiled stack.
Spoiled Stack Access: Players can open the spoiled stack to view all items within it.

Notebook Update

Dive into the refreshed Notebook, where organization meets creativity. Our latest update brings a suite of enhancements that make managing your Sims' notes and discoveries a breeze. Whether you're jotting down notes for your Sim or exploring unique categories, the Notebook is now more intuitive and engaging than ever before.

New Layout: Enjoy a spacious layout that accommodates new content effortlessly.
Category Page Enhancements: Discover new category pages showcasing unique details.
Discovery Badges: Keep track of new discoveries with badges on unseen items in your collections. If a new discovery is added, a badge will highlight those categories.
Back Button: Navigate between categories and the main menu with the new back button.
Direct Access Buttons: Access Household Collections and Sim Stats directly from the Notebook.
Console Updates: Enjoy improved scrolling with the right analog stick for console users, making navigation even better.

New Household Collections Interface

Now it's even easier to see all the things your Sims have collected as a household!

The Sim's "Inventory" button animates when a new collection item is found. Once opened, the diamond icon in the top right glows green to notify you.
On the Collection page, categories have a badge to show they have new items.
Collections have a new layout for easier viewing of categories. Progress is shown by a progress around each collection.
A new dropdown menu lets you sort collections by completion progress or name.
Within specific collections, you can filter by "Rarity", "Name", "Recent", "Bonus Items", and "Missing".
Collections can be accessed from both a Sim's Inventory and the Notebook.

Glass Walls

Add some transparency to your Sim's life with glass walls! In Build Mode, select "Build", then select "Wall Patterns". In the "Misc" filter, you'll find a selection of Glass Walls that perfectly compliment the Glass Roofs.

Plants on Roofs

Want to add some organic greenery to your builds? Try placing Plants on Roofs! A selection of shrubs and flowers can now be placed on rooftops in Build Mode, if the footprint allows it. To see what kind of plants are available for roofs, enter Build Mode and select "Roof Sculptures". If you happen to be looking at "Outdoor Plants", hovering over any plant will tell you if the plant is "Roof Placeable" or not. For inspiration, we recently launched a Garden challenge in our Discord community!

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