Every Day Clutter Kit

The Icon sporing the coffee cup and envelope has been confirmed to be known as the “Everyday Clutter Kit”

Thanks to SimMattically we also have a screenshot of the splash screens as well as the Everyday clutter assets

Pastel Pop Kit
The second kit leaked is titled “Pastel Pop Kit” and features several items to brighten up your sims dwellings based on the splash screen and screen shots
UPDATE Pastel Pop Kit was developed in collaboration with Plumbellayt:

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Keep it tuned in right here as we continue to unravel the details of the kits as our community shares more of their brilliant discoveries. While you wait for more details to drop, enjoy the following creators videos with their individual insights and speculations:

The short answer is no. 

Contrary to all of the various videos and tweets you may have seen, Maxis developers have not officially announced Sims 5.

Then what’s all the sudden to-do about the next iteration of the beloved franchise? This is what we know for sure:


During the Behind the Sims Summit (linked below), developers shared that there is in fact a team working on the next version of the ubiquitous life simulator. This ambitious project is lovingly code-named: The Sims Project Rene.

What does this mean?
Answer: This means there is a team actively working on the development of the next version of the game. It is unclear, however, if developers will name this version “The Sims 5.” 

What did we learn about Project Rene?

Answers:
A. Developers are  designing the game to work across multiple platforms. This will allow users the same experience across Mobile/Console/Computer platforms.
B. The team is and continues to listen to the community to build in top requested features such as the return of a color wheel, pattern customization, object sizing (stretching and pulling vs the current resize options)
C. Developers mentioned that this game will be designed to play WITH our friends, hinting at online connectivity.
D. Project Rene is many years away from being released, thus The Sims 4 will be around for years to come.

Developers left a lot to Simmer imaginations, but in a move of unprecedented transparency, the team shared with us very early access "rough" footage to get an idea of their concept and direction.
Behind The Sims Summit Stream Event
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Below you will find several reaction videos and news videos to check out, so you can form your own opinions about Project Rene.

Let us know what you think of what you saw and what you hope comes with the next iteration in the comments below!

As a side note, we are personally thrilled about the continued development of The Sims 4 and can not wait to see what they've in store for us over the next 4-5 years while we wait for the next big release.

And for a bit of joy in your day, please enjoy being “let in” on HipHipRenee’s little known secret about the whole project: ​

On January 25th, thousands of notoriously insatiable Simmers awaited word from Maxis on high.  An earlier teaser image, a splash page of colorful confetti, saturated purple, and enthused Sims, promised the Simming audience not only two new vibrant kits but also a game pack that would enhance "romantic parties."  Eagle-eyed Simmers noted quickly the wedding cakes, entwined rings, elaborate masks, and tiger imprints hidden in the confetti, and the cycle of Simming speculation began anew. 

While many Simmers clamored to uncover what romance game pack could be coming, Maxis whetted the appetites of their salivating Simmer audience with news of a fresh new kit: Carnaval Streetwear Kit. 

This Create-a-Sim kit, which will be available February 3rd, is an homage to all things glitter, sequins, neon, and fabulous. The kit not only offers apparel that one might don for the world's biggest party, but it also fits feminine and masculine frames with equal ease. Maxis collaborated with Pabllo Vittar, fresh-faced, enormously talented musician and Drag superstar, to bring this colorful kit to fruition. Each look is inspired by Pabllo herself; they are skin-baring works of mesh, sequins, and glitter. There are fun watermelon imprinted tops, bejeweled crops, rainbow blouses, gold chain belts, hip-hugging purple skirts, sky-colored lowcut halter tops, and more. In a world when we are all redefining norms and encouraging ourselves to be the most authentic we can muster, it is the right kit at the right time. 

But what even is Carnaval? Why should Simmers care about it? Why did Maxis choose this celebration to represent now and why?

Though Carnaval is most closely associated with Brazil, it is actually a world-wide event celebrated in 50 countries all over the world.  In Brazil, two million people of all shapes and sizes dress in feathers and sequins, glitter and gold, and strut down the Sambadrom alongside enormous floats.  These gigantic block parties are an experience of sound, color, and absolute joy.  In Italy, people attend masked balls and dress in decadent masquerade costumes. Carnaval is known as Mardi Gras in the United States, is celebrated with fierce abandon in Trinidad, and has become one of Quebec's largest festivals of the year too. 

Carnaval began as a pagan festival in ancient Egypt. The Egyptians feasted and made merry in order to usher out winter and celebrate the beginning of spring.  Naturally, Alexander the Great  adopted the festival for the Greeks, who passed it to Rome, who eventually infused the festival with Christian meaning. "Carne Vale" means "farewell meat" in Latin; that is, the festival became the grand party of indulgence, of meat-eating and wine-drinking, before the fastidious austerity of Lent.   This practice spread across Europe and then eventually throughout the world through colonization.  In places like Brazil, Salvador, and Trinidad, these European traditions fused with African ones to become the week-long, Afro-Latinx Carnaval we know now. 

The Carnaval Streetwear kit finds inspiration in the eye-popping fashions of Pabllo Vittar. In fact, the update that prepared players for the incoming kit folded a new radio station into base game, which features Pabllo's hit "Buzina," in Simlish.

But who is Pabllo?

Pabllo is a singing, dancing modeling drag sensation from Brazil. Effortlessly stunning, with chiseled bronzed features, a pouty mouth, and a dancer's curvaceous build, Pabllo is sweeping the world by storm with her heart-pumping Brazilian-infused dance music. Featured by both Vogue and Time Magazine as a future industry leader, Pabllo remains the sort of entertainer one can only call "authentic." Her affect is like that of a comforting sister who, before hitting the clubs for the evening, meticulously applies your concealer for you while singing your gorgeous praises.

"Do you want to show up beautiful, or do you want to be on time?" she often jokes.

This is to say nothing of Pabllo's actual singing ability, which is bursting with full-throated range. Pabllo's music captures the joy and sensuality of being uniquely authentic, a trait she espouses and exudes endlessly. She sometimes recalls growing up in Brazil as an effeminate boy who loved to sing and wear dresses. Pabllo recalls many complicated difficulties that accompanied being so deeply different, describing her experience as hard but transformative. Now, Pabllo performs before enormous crowds, belting out her infectious musical repertoire with undeniable verve.

Why should Simmers care about Carnaval or Pabllo Vittar?

The world is changing. The arc of history is bending toward justice, toward authenticity, toward self-acceptance. People, particularly young people, are questioning the restrictive roles and shame heaped upon them in the past to forge ahead, to live their lives in ways that feel good to them. 

The Sims team, through kits like Modern Menswear and Carnaval Streetwear, reflect the changing sensibilities that is their core audience.  "You make the Sims," they insist, and they mean this literally.  The Sims, almost by definition, strives to reflect what is real, what is inclusive, to represent all people. What can be more inclusive than a world-wide party? What can be more inclusive than a singing session with a drag queen pop-star? The Sims must represent all people, who, collectively, have begun to step more fully into their own authenticity. 

While glitz and glam has always been the currency of drag queens, the rest of the world has only just begun to follow their illustrious lead. 

Check out the kit February 3rd. 

​FreePlay wrapped up its latest Sim Chase only to dip back into a fan-favorite quest: Inner Child’s Play. This quirky quest guides the player through an adorable storyline involving a child’s birthday party, a semi-helpful but fabulously dressed witch, and a hapless friend named Crystal, who struggles to wrangle a houseful of hungry children. The player earns a treehouse for completing this quest, a prize that players can use for both adults, teens, and preteens.

Most notably, FreePlay began its fresh live event: School’s Out. During this event, the player makes mountains of craftable materials such as pottery, glassware, jewelry, and candles. The player trades these items for various themed prizes. During “School’s Out,” players earn prizes like school desks, science lab stations, new flooring, brightly colored school doors, vending machines, a principal’s desk, and far more. As a grand prize, Simmers earn a fully built, full furnished school building.  FreePlayers can stay tuned for the return of “Mean Curls,” which repopulated into the game September 9th, and the newest Sim Chase, which begins September 15th.

On August 25th, Sims Mobile Game Changers confirmed what mobile Simmers witnessed earlier as a leak: the introduction of the newest Sweet Treat Showdown — Cultured Kitchen. Beginning August 31st, this event offered mobile players various kitchen accoutrements such as new counters, islands, womenswear, bread loaves, and similar clutter material. The grand prizes for successfully opening all prize boxes are a countertop pizza oven, a seriously smart fridge, and cutely curled side style for women.

Game Changers also churned out news about two new purchasable packs. The first pack, Kitchen Essentials, popped September 5th for $7.99 USD. It included:

• Frothing Mad Milk Jug
• Clean it Tomorrow Stack
• Good as Gourd Vase
• Triple Hanging Shelves
• Circular End Table
• Glass a Day Wine Rack
• 7K Simoleons

 The highly anticipated Labor of Love pack will trigger for players September 16th. Costing $9.99, the pack offers:

• Labor of Love Uniform 
• Gutsy Gumboots
• Rolled Up Tee 
• Appropriately aproned Outfit 
• Plaited and Proud Braids 
• Funky Framed Glasses 
• 9K Simoleons 
  

Furthermore, Wumples #36 and #37 also dropped. In return for a grueling five day to-do list, Wumples the bunny offers Simmers the Very Voguish Vase and the Perfect Perfume on September 6th, and the Sitting and Staring doll alongside the Forget me Knit plush doll on September 21st.

Finally, with just days before the release of Sims 4: Journey to Batuu, Sims Mobile offered its players two free Star Wars themed packs. The first, an adorable stuffed version of The Child, affectionally deemed “Baby Yoda,” was actually a rerun of the earlier May 4th offering. The second pack featured a dancing DJ R-3X, a droid-shaped stereo. It also offered two lightsaber wall lights in six different colors.​

The wheels of the Sims universe quietly turned this week.  There was little to no earth shattering news from any of the three Sims realms, but as we near the end of August, rest assured that this relative silence is but the calm before the storm.  Sims FreePlay continued its Influence Island exploration, Sims Mobile wound down Sweet Treats, and Sims 4 developers dropped some cryptic teasers, some of which may not have been intentional. ​

It is no secret that the Sims 4 development team is incredibly astute when it comes to cryptic teasers. The weeks before any major pack drop developers drop strange, enticing, and weirdly suggestive tweets to throw the Sims Community into a speculative tizzy.

After a strangely quiet week of little to no Sims 4 updates, SimGuruGeorge tweeted a render of a male Sim wearing the Moschino sweat suit and looking pensive. Behind him are two more Sims, also wearing Moschino gear,

Alongside this rendering, George wrote “Wednesday,” and then asked if Simmers pronounce the “n” in the notoriously misspelled word.

What does this all mean? Simmers await the next game pack, but could there be a secret fashion stuff pack on the way? Is it just post to throw us all off their future pack/farming pack/Star Wars pack scent?

What do you think? Tell us in the comments below, and happy speculating!

The Sims franchise reacted to increasing pressure from not only the world state at large but also its vehemently vocal fanbase this week in all facets of its industry. From annoying bugs in Sims Mobile, to fresh event models in Sims Freeplay, and finally the revamping of Sim skintones in Sims 4, the franchise seems to be burning the midnight oil to appease its players.

Sims FreePlay, in particular, responded to player desires by including two fresh features to keep their builders building and their players playing. On August 10th, FreePlay underwent a massive update which brought a deluge of new features to the game. The first of these was L-shaped rooms. Gone are the days when Sims FreePlay builders created grand shapes out of the standard rectangular rooms. After undergoing a pricey quest, Simmers gain the ability to make rectangular rooms into L-shaped rooms. Why is this significant? It allows builders to better demarcate living areas in their builds without having to physically build another room. An L-shaped room could be used as a living room in one stem and a dining room in the next, an arrangement common in real life. But this was not all that FreePlay announced this week. The Firemonkeys team presented an uncommonly united front as they announced the giant "School's Out" update, over a month's worth of events in which players can participate to win school-themed prizes: steel water fountains, bleachers, goal posts, cafeteria serving stations, and far more. The grand prize for the live event, which pops in player devices September 3rd and runs for ten days, is a fully furnished school building.

But not even this is the end of the FreePlay story. Responding to player frustrations over the immensely unpopular Sim Chase, FreePlay added a new game facet to their mobile franchise: Influence Island. A quirky, refreshing take on "Survivor" style game shows, Influence Island plunks player Sims onto a sun-soaked, sandy island populated not only with coconut trees but also celebrity Sims. The challenge encourages player Sims to wield their powers of persuasion to lure these celebrity Sims -- think Bella Goth, Izzy Fabulous, and Santa -- to their side through lying, cheating, swindling, flirting, and all kinds of questionable cajoling. Winning over celebs earns the player Sim network tokens, a currency used in the gift shop to spin for prizes. After claiming all of the "common" prizes, players can then spin for "rare" prizes, all of which are, again, school themed. Of course, players will need to contend with an antagonist on Influence Island, who plots to influence the celebrity Sims against the hero Sim. Players must guess, gamble, and take plenty of well-measured risks in order to outwit the rival Sim at his own game.

More Sims FreePlay news included the return of Sim Chase. There are two new ones this month and a rerun of a third. Sim Chase #18 populates in-game August 21st and is aptly named "Sports Day Stoush." The second SimChase of the month is called "School Scuffles," beginning September 15th. The rewards for both of these chases will be school-themed. At the end of the month, on September 26th, players will contend with Sim Chase #4, Teen Retreat.

Freeplayers may also look forward to a new Maternity pack, an award for completing a maternity quest between August 30th and September 7th. Players can also look for the beloved "Inner Child's Play Quest" on August 31st, the Mean Curls hobby event on September 9th, and the Urban Furniture hobby event September 23rd alongside the Holiday High-Rise live event, also on September 23rd. Check out Simmer's Digest online for detailed walkthroughs of all these events in the coming weeks.

Sims Mobile had a moderately active week as Simmers wound down their Sweet Treats efforts and stuffed their new garages with tools, beanbags, and foosball tables, all while speculating about possible car updates in the future. The last update did leave a few players reeling; alongside the stunning camera and fourth floor changes came a host of new bugs, the most needling of which was the disappearance of Eco Retreat salvaged wood walls. Players sent their Sims to their humble eco paradises only to find their walls bare and white. To appease players, Firemonkeys compensated them with extra simoleons on August 12th.

The Sims Mobile Gamechangers dropped a smattering of information to round out the Mobile updates for the month, introducing two new purchasable packs and the final Wumples event for August. The first pack, populating in-game on August 13th and offered for $6.99, will include a caged bunker light, a Lively Linen closet, Shadowboxed tools, a Monumental canyon poster, Garage essential shelving, 6,000 simoleons, and a squat bookshelf hilariously called "that's a Lotta-man Books." Predictably, the Sims Mobile team trotted out another pack meant only for female Sims-- the Casa de Comfy pack, outfitted with a prim and plush bathrobe, sleepytime pajamas, sleepytime slippers,a branded and brave sweater, and a two-tone crew neck sweater alongside 9,000 simoleons. This pack triggers on August 24thand will cost $8.99 USD.

Wumples leaps back into action on August 23rd. In exchange for a five foot long to-do list, Wumples awards the player this time with a unicorn piggy bank, a horse-like plushie, and ten fashion gems.

But there was perhaps no greater news this week than that which occurred in Sims 4 circles. There is no doubt that we all live in tumultuous times. In light of horrific police brutality, the silencing of protestors, and the on-going systemic oppression faced by people of color worldwide, the need for racial justice, the cry for change, has never been more clear, never been more loud. Communities everywhere know that humanity stands on the cusp of monumental change, the arc of our history bending toward justice, and that change should involve every corner of our lives: even our video games. August 11th, SimGuruLindsay took to Twitter to address what hundreds of players have loudly advocated for for years: improved skin tones.

For a long time, darker skin tones in the Sims 4 were strangely blotchy, ashen, with undertones closer to blue or purple than the rich reds and yellows of actual people of color. In a game which has long touted its reputation as a game of equality, of inclusion, and life-simulation, this was a glaring oversight. Gamers took up the cause with a fiery new vigor: they interrupted Twitch streams, hijacked Twitter announcements, and advocated loudly on all social media platforms. Of course, talented modders like the indefatigable Xmiramira have not only spoken up about this oversight but also remedied it with widely-used skin mods. But now, with the blindingly stark light of racial injustice thrown on every facet of our lives, the Sims can no longer look the other way.

SimGuruLyndsay promised that they have heard the concerns of their player base. The Sims 4 team, after conferring closely with experts and stakeholders, has pledged to correct the skin tones in an upcoming fall patch.

Change will come, listeners, but only if you reach for it.

Until next time, stay safe, stay sane, and never stay silent. And as always, happy Simming.

It’s only early August, but Sims FreePlay is ready to go back to school!

The evening of August 8th, the Sims FreePlay Gamechangers announced a new series of live events that will appear in game with the newest August 10th update. All event prizes follow the seasonal, back-to-school theme, offering a grand prize of a large school building. This building comes decked out with a paved parking lot, an assembly room, a principal’s office, wide staircases, a cafeteria, and far more.

Alongside the school-themed events, FreePlayers will have the chance to complete a special quest which unlocks L-shaped rooms!

After speaking with Lee the mechanic at the nightclub, Simmers can complete her short quest to unlock these versatile rooms. Check out the example below from GirlWhoGames!

In addition, a slew of school-themed SimChases and live events will pop into the game alongside this update. Check the list Salix Cat created to know when your favorite arrives!

Here at Simmer’s Digest, we’ll cover all of the events in depth. Stay tuned for helpful infographics and time-saving articles!

School’s still out for summer, but we’re here to school you anyway! Happy Simming!

Maxis had the fantastic Maxis Monthly stream today revealing that this December 23rd we will continue to vote on the community voted theme pack.
Below are screen shots of the artist renderings of the possible build and buy mode styles from the live stream

Coming in 2020 console players will be gaining access to the Gallery, and PC players will be able to download and access console players creations as well...that's right, cross platform Gallery coming in 2020