Players of The Sims 4 are complaining that the latest patch has done something wrong, leading to their Sims being irrationally mean or cruel to others. The problem is currently impacting multiple players, who claim that nothing like this has happened in their games previously.
The Sims 4 regularly updates, either to provide brand-new content in the form of expansions and stuff packs, or to simply fix up the game experience. However, as with many of these updates, like one that led Sims aging at an abnormally rapid pace, this latest one seems to be having unintended consequences.
Over on the EA support forums, multiple players have reported that their Sims seem to be acting cruelly for no apparent reason. Sims who have traits that make them peaceful and get along with others are now acting out by being mean and starting fights, even with other Sims that they have high relationship scores with. It's not limited to the player's Sims, either, as even NPCs have been acting more aggressively towards anyone they come across. The issue also seems to impact the Sims regardless of life stage.
Players have reported this as a major issue for them, as it's heavily impacting relationships and behavior of the Sims themselves. Players who have long-running save files, in particular, are wary of playing until this issue is fixed, as it's actively impacting gameplay and damaging relationships that players have worked hard to build between their Sims. Unfortunately, the problem is completely autonomous, so unless players want to control their Sims' every action, there's no real way to control the issue.
Thankfully, after weeks of reports, EA has updated the community post to note that a fix is underway. However, no official tips or suggestions have been provided at this time to avoid the problem. Until the fix is released, players may want to start a new family or play something else entirely. Once the update launches, it should be safe to go back to The Sims 4 without any unwanted negativity between characters.
With a game as long-running and complex as The Sims 4, it's likely for problems to emerge over time, and that's often the case with the game's updates. Prior updates have seen some bizarre issues crop up, like alien abductions leading to male pregnancies, or simpler issues, like certain functions of the My Wedding Stories game pack not working properly upon launch. While frustrating, all players can do is create a backup save and remain aware of any issues they discover so that EA can track down the problem and fix it.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
Source: EA