What The Sims 4's New Expansion Most Likely Is, Based On Hints

When EA and Maxis announced The Sims 4 Summer Roadmap, the theme of the upcoming expansion pack was teased. Players were only given the hint of “bond with nature.” This tease led to many fans speculating what exactly could be included in the next expansion pack. With more hints coming out, the next expansion pack for The Sims 4 could be exactly what many fans have been clamoring for, and perhaps even more.

The Summer of Sims campaign kicked off with the release of the fourth-ever Kit pack for The Sims 4 called Courtyard Oasis in May and continued with the newest game pack Dream Home Decorator, which came out at the beginning of June. It was perhaps assumed by fans that the new expansion pack would be released in July since it was the last thing listed in the roadmap, but with The Sims team teasing a countryside expansion, the new pack could be coming very soon.

While the official theme of the new expansion pack has yet to be revealed, there have been several hints made by SimGurus and The Sims Twitter page. According to SimsVIP, Producer for The Sims 4 GrimSuruDoi posted an acrostic poem that spelled out Henford on Bagley, which is the name that appears on the postcards received by some EA Game Changers. It is also likely the new world coming in the new expansion. The official Twitter account for The Sims also posted a reactionary teaser of Game Changers seeing a “sneak beak” of the new expansion. Other hints included were the words “everybunny is invited” as well as the title of the teaser video which says, “A Little Bird Told Us A New Pack Is Coming.” While there is a consensus from fans about what could be included in the The Sim 4's 11th expansion pack, one never truly knows when it comes to EA. There are many different directions that this new countryside pack can go, so let’s look at what the new Sims 4 expansion pack could be.

The Sims 4 Farming Expansion Pack

Fans who have been hoping to get farming in The Sims 4 for a while may get their wish. While there have been many Sims throughout the series who have been considered “farmers,” there has never been a pack in the entirety of the franchise dedicated to farming and raising animals. The only things that have come close to it is the Country Livin’ and Farm Fresh Folk sets from The Sims 3 store. The Country Livin' set offered country styled clothing, furniture similar to the Country Kitchen Kit pack, and a chicken coop.

The Farm Fresh Folk set offered cows to raise, although cows in The Sims have typically been associated with cowplants. Introducing a farming expansion pack in The Sims 4 would give Maxis a plethora of opportunities to do things it's never done before, such as bring two of the series’ longtime mascots in llamas and freezer bunnies to life in the form of pets. Finally, the date on the Henford-on-Bagley postcard is November 4, 2019 which was National Chicken Lady Day, so a farming pack may be the most realistic possibility for the new Sims 4 expansion pack.

The Sims 4 Fairies Expansion Pack

Speaking of dreams coming true, many fans speculate that the new expansion pack will introduce fairies to The Sims 4. The acrostic poem made by Sims 4 producer GrimSuruDoi may have alluded to fairies. If fairies are brought back, they would join ghosts, aliens, mermaids, and servos as the only occults to not have a specific pack game pack dedicated to them.

This could mean, if fairies are brought to The Sims 4 in the new expansion pack, they may not be as detailed as vampires from The Sims 4 Vampires game pack and spellcasters from The Sims 4 Realm of Magic game pack. The last time players were able to play with fairies in The Sims was in The Sims 3 Supernatural, which not only included fairies, but also added werewolves, witches, and zombies.

The Sims 4 Hotel Or Air BnB Expansion Pack

The very first DLC released for The Sims 4, the Outdoor Retreat game pack, introduced rental properties. Sims were allowed to travel to the destination world of Granite Falls and rent a place to stay while going camping. The Sims 4 Snowy Escape expansion pack expanded on rental properties, making the world of Mt. Komrebi both destination and residential. This allowed players to have their Sims live in or take a vacation to Mt. Komrebi.

The pre-Snowy Escape patch also allowed players to put rental lots in any world. Players aren’t currently able to own or run their own rental property, but a hint provided for the upcoming Sims 4 expansion pack could make it a reality soon. The teaser postcards sent to Game Changers state that a “worldwide tourism video for Henford-on-Bagley” will premiere on June 10, 2021. This verbiage could potentially be a hint that Henford-on-Bagley is a tourism town, and thus has various places for tourist to stay while they enjoy the sights and activities that the countryside has to offer.

The Sims 4 Expansion: Gardening Revamp or Grocery Stores?

There is a chance that EA could surprise fans with something that no one expected, but not in a good way. If there is a worst-case scenario for what the new Sims 4 expansion pack could be, perhaps it would be yet another gardening re-tool with a countryside world to compensate for a potential lack of gameplay.

The Sims 4 Island Living had an issue with missing features. A new world, occult, and semi-active job were included in the expansion, but the primary feature seemed to be the ability to swim and ride water vehicles in the Sulani waters. The Henford-on-Bagley postcard teaser mentions of a “Garden Stall” as something to visit while there. This stall will likely have new fruits and vegetables that can be bought, sold, and grown, but if it turns out to be the main attraction of Henford-on-Bagley, Sims may be better off saying at home at waiting on The Sims 5.

If simmers aren’t excited for any of these expansion theme possibilities, then perhaps they should be excited for the new potentially European inspired world of Henford-on-Bagley, as well as the architecture and clothing that will come with it. The art team for The Sims 4 are known for creating worlds that are visually pleasing, but although aesthetic does have its role, gameplay also factors in the success of The Sims. If EA wants to keep pushing out a ridiculous amount of DLC for The Sims 4 for years for come, fans will have to start getting content that they want instead of content that is either broken or tone deaf. Let’s hope that the 11^th expansion pack for The Sims 4 is the beginning of a hot sim summer.