Strategy & Simulation · 2000s
The Sims
Will Wright's domestic simulator turned watching a virtual household eat, work, and fall in love into the best-selling PC franchise of its era. Its 'simlish' language and needs-based design made ordinary life compulsively playable.
| First released | 2000 |
|---|---|
| Developer | Maxis |
| Original platform | PC (Windows) |
Why it matters
It proved games could speak to audiences no shooter ever reached, and it became a cultural phenomenon far beyond gaming — and a template for the life-sim category that thrives today.
Play it today
The original and its sequel returned to modern PCs as Legacy Collections, and The Sims 4 is free to start.
Start here
Start with one sim and no cheats; the needs system teaches itself. The modern free-starting The Sims 4 is the easiest entry point, with the original's charm intact in the Legacy Collection.
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims — release date, developer, sales history
Sources for this page were checked 2026-09-21.