Sims 4 Players Might Want to Back Up Their Saves Before February 3

If you’re a fan of The Sims 4, you can potentially save yourself future headaches by backing up your game and its saves before February 3. Changes are coming to The Sims 4 that could potentially cause problems, particularly for those who play the game with mods.

This year will mark The Sims 4‘s 12th anniversary, with the game being far from stagnant over those years. Major updates in the form of expansions and content packs have added new things to do, new gameplay mechanics, and places to explore, but these releases can sometimes come with some hiccups that can put saved files at risk. Now, on the cusp of the arrival of The Sims 4‘s 21st expansion pack, a warning has been shared with players.

What You Need To Know About The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy

The Sims 4 Royalty and Legacy expansion pack is just one step away from being confirmed – here’s what we know so far.

The Sims 4 Warns Players to Save The Game

Now, EA has put out an official notice that players of The Sims 4 should back up their games before February 3 due to an upcoming update. The base game update will introduce expanded family tree, genealogy, and relationship functionality, altering how family connections are kept track of. The update is arriving in advance of the coming Sims 4 Royalty and Legacy expansion pack, which launches on February 12. According to EA, testing has shown that the new base game update may impact some mod gameplay, and as a result, could cause problems with save files. While vanilla Sims 4 players may not have anything to worry about, backing up one’s game every once in a while is a good idea.

How to Back Up The Sims 4 Saves

Backing up one’s game from The Sims 4 is pretty easy to do.

On PC:

Navigate to My Documents in the File Explorer.
Access the Electronic Arts folder.
Select The Sims 4 folder.
Right-click on the folder and select copy.
Navigate to a different file location, outside of Documents, and paste The Sims 4 folder.

On Mac:

Open Finder from the Dock
Open the Documents folder
Open the Electronic Arts folder
Select The Sims 4 folder
Using Command and C, copy the folder
Navigate to the home screen or another file location and press command and V to paste the backed up version.

It’s a good idea to rename the copied folder to indicate that it’s a backup, preferably with the date the backup is made to make it easier to identify. Players can then utilize this folder if they need to restore their Sims 4 save.

Once the saves are backed up, EA has recommended removing any Sims 4 family mods, like those that deal with generational gameplay or make changes to family rules. Active mod creators will likely confirm whether their mods are working correctly soon after the update lands. EA has gone ahead and produced a list of the Python changes being made to the base game in advance of the update’s arrival, so modders can start making changes before the update ever arrives, which will likely streamline the process for most mods receiving updates.

While the suggested housecleaning might be a little annoying, the exciting new features coming to the game with The Sims 4‘s Royalty and Legacy expansion pack may be well worth it. Royalty and Legacy will take players to Ondarion, a new coastal world to build Sims’ dynasties. The expansion will feature new elements like the Dynasty system, Scandals, Powershifts, and Swordsmanship, a new dueling skill. A number of new, unique items are also being added, like the Crystal Slippers, Noble Frog, Enchanted Mirror, or the Sword in Stone. Sims will be able to access the new Noble Career, which can ultimately lead to their family rising to the throne itself.