When people think of The Sims franchise, the last thing they probably think is “timeline.” The games have always been advertised and played as individual installments, with each series hopefully building on the foundation that was laid out by the previous game. However, with the recurring “townies,” or pre-made townspeople, showing up in every game, there’s a story being told nonetheless. Players have the option to mess with this story by playing with life in that specific pre-made family, but nevertheless, a story is being told that players can either follow or implode.
The Sims isn’t told in a linear timeline, but each game (with the exception of The Sims 4) relates to the other in their own way. Popular characters and townies, or their relatives, make appearances in every iteration of the game, leading to interesting continuity between Sims game generations. While The Sims 4 is set on an alternate timeline, the other games in the franchise actually connect to each other with an overarching plotline, though it may not be in the way players think.
The Sims 1
Made as a spiritual successor to the SimCity games, The Sims was released in 2000 and is still going strong to this day. The Sims developer even has something planned for the series’ 21st birthday. As far as the timeline goes, The Sims is actually smack in the middle of the established plotline. Players complete the tutorial of the game as Bob and Betty Newbie, who’s last name is unsurprisingly a play on words for new players.
Another well-known family players are introduced to in The Sims is the Goth family, which at the time consists of Mortimer, Bella, and their daughter Cassandra. Bella’s maiden name is actually Bachelor, and players can choose to place and play as her brother Michael Bachelor in the original Sims game. There’s only one other family featured in this Sims series that makes an appearance later on, which is the Pleasant family. The Pleasants, Jeff and Diane, have two children, Daniel and Jennifer.
The Sims 2
The Sims 2 is set approximately 25 years into the future of The Sims timeline, with reappearances from some townies, while others have passed away. Bob and Betty Newbie are no longer alive, but they’ve had a daughter named Brandi who married her late husband Skip Broke. Skip has already passed (under some mysterious circumstances concerning a pool ladder) by the time players load up the game, leaving Brandi to care for their two sons, Dustin and Beau.
The Goths have expanded their family, having a son named Alexander. However, Bella has disappeared and been abducted by aliens without a trace. Mortimer has aged quite a bit and is in the elder stage when players first load the Goth family. Cassandra has grown into a young woman and is dating the town womanizer, Don Lothario. Her father Mortimer is dating Dina Caliente, a woman who not only is with him for his money but is also seeing his daughter’s fiance on the side. Michael Bachelor, Bella’s brother, is already listed as deceased in the family tree by the start of this game, but was married to Dina Caliente before his death - the same woman Mortimer is currently seeing.
Jeff and Diane Pleasant have passed away by the start of The Sims 2, but their son Daniel and his family are one of the original starting families of the game. His sister Jennifer and her husband John Burb are also in The Sims 2, but must be placed by the player. Daniel and his wife Mary-Sue are in an unhappy marriage, and Daniel is actually having an affair with the maid. Daniel and Sue have twin girls, Angela and Lilith, with the former being the “sweetheart” and the latter being a bit of a rebel.
The Sims 3
The Sims 3 is where things get a little nonlinear in the timeline. Instead of beginning directly after the events of the previous game, it’s actually set about 50 years prior to The Sims 2. Where Bob Newbie was already married in The Sims, The Sims 3 introduces him as a teenager with his parents Robert and Mags Newbie. His future wife, Betty Simovitch, lives in the same neighborhood as him and they’re best friends at the start of the game.
The Goths and Bachelors are young as well, with a child Mortimer and his parents Gunther and Cornelia Goth. Bella is also a child and retains her maiden name Bachelor, living with her brother Michael and her parents Simis and Jocasta. Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant also appear in The Sims 3, though it’s in a neighborhood that must be purchased off The Sims 3 Store and they’re young adults.
This leads into an interesting point that sometimes different neighborhoods in The Sims 3 are set in different parts of the timeline. This is made abundantly clear when Bella Goth makes an appearance at Lunar Lakes; She's been confirmed dead at that point, meaning Lunar Lakes takes place much later in the timeline than other Sims 3 neighborhoods.
The Sims 4
For all intents and purposes, The Sims 4 is set in an alternate timeline where many of the original, iconic townie families exist in the same setting. The Goths make an appearance in the base game along with the Caliente family and Don Lothario, but none of their previously established storylines carry over into this game. In fact, this is the only Sims game where Bella has been in the same household as both of her children at the start of the game.
The Sims 4 also features a ton of different cameos from other townies, especially thanks to the Gallery which allowed the developer to upload Sims 4 versions of previous households. Daniel and Mary-Sue Pleasant can be found in the Gallery with their teenage daughters, though Lilith and Angela were also added as young adults in the Discover University expansion pack. Other packs have also brought subtle nods or full recreations of previous Sims families to The Sims 4.
The Goths, Bachelors, Pleasants, Newbies, and Brokes, to name a few, are all only a small fraction of the intertwining families found in The Sims universe. Each game also had DLC that extended the timeline with other families, like the Landgraabs or Alto family. Though there is an overarching plot to The Sims, it also gives players the freedom to follow or destroy the path that’s been plotted out for the Sims families in question. The Sims is about playing with life, and players do that regardless of the timeline.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.