The free The Sims 4 base-game update released on October 27, 2026, with the “Classic Elder Looks & Cozy Nooks” content drop, new controls for weight and muscle changes, a broad food-system overhaul, television and pie-menu improvements, and more than 150 publisher-reported bug fixes. PC build 1.129.39.1030, Mac build 1.129.39.1230, and console build 2.40 are available. Pack-specific changes still require ownership of the relevant pack.
What was added in The Sims 4 October 2026 update?
The patch combines free Elder-themed Create a Sim and Build Mode content with simulation controls and quality-of-life changes. Its largest systems changes affect body customization and food behavior, while the fix list covers base-game issues and problems in numerous expansion, game and stuff packs.
| Platform | October 27, 2026 build |
|---|---|
| PC | 1.129.39.1030 |
| Mac | 1.129.39.1230 |
| Console | 2.40 |
EA describes the release as containing more than 150 bug fixes, including more than 25 Dine Out fixes and 14 new crash or assert fixes. Those totals are the publisher’s counts, not independently audited measurements.
What free Elder items are in the update?
The “Classic Elder Looks & Cozy Nooks” drop is free base-game content. Build Mode receives 11 objects:
- The Needlepoint Nook Chair
- Light of Yesteryear
- The Glowlden Goose
- Heritage Home Drapery
- Heritage Home Drapery – Wide
- Heritage Home Drapery – Extra Wide
- Petals & Proverbs Plaque
- The Floral Fossil sofa
- Granny’s Roost Rug
- Bloom & Gingham Delight wallpaper
- The Early Bird Bed
Create a Sim adds two hairstyles: Quiff Side Part and Half-Down Waves. Four new clothing assets are included: Polo Shirt with Cardigan, Long Dress with Lace and Buttons, Sleeveless Blouse, and Long Skirt with Pockets. Five existing pieces also receive new recolors: High Waisted Jacket, Long Blazer, Granny Dress, Open Cardigan, and Loose Pants with Crease.
The update also includes four Elder Styled Looks, one Styled Room and a Gallery household containing the four modeled Sims. These are base-game assets; individual clothing and hair can technically be used on other ages when the asset allows it.
How do I turn off weight gain or muscle gain?
Use the independent Allow Weight Changes and Allow Muscle Changes options in Game Options to control those simulation changes across a save. You can leave weight changes on while disabling muscle changes, or reverse that combination.
- Open the in-game menu and choose Game Options.
- Open the gameplay settings and locate Allow Weight Changes and Allow Muscle Changes.
- Switch either option off, apply the change, and return to the save.
For a single Sim, use that Sim’s Sim Physique self-interaction to disable or re-enable weight or muscle changes independently. EA says these controls do not apply to Cats & Dogs pets or Horses.
These toggles are separate from fixes for extreme muscle gain or weight loss caused by Free Weights in Adventure Awaits and Sword Fighting in Royalty & Legacy. Those are gameplay bug fixes, and the corresponding pack is required for each activity.
What changed in the food, dining and drink overhaul?
The refrigerator’s Open interaction now appears at the front of its pie menu. Prices and calories for food and drink items were retuned across the base game and packs for more consistent values.
Leftovers and autonomous cooking
Hungry Sims now prefer available leftovers in a refrigerator or on counters instead of autonomously cooking a new meal. This should reduce duplicate meals when prepared food is already accessible.
Family Recipes expansion
Businesses & Hobbies Family Recipes now accepts more than 375 pre-existing dishes from the base game and packs. A small number remain excluded for technical or fit reasons; EA cites graham crackers as one example. The feature expands the eligible recipe pool rather than adding 375 newly authored dishes.
Baked-good decorating
Get to Work adds Quickly Decorate for baked goods that are not centered on a counter. It uses a short animation intended to avoid the routing failures that previously interrupted decorating. The pack is required.
Which everyday controls were added?
Televisions can now be locked by Sim category, allowing, for example, a playroom television to be restricted to children. Previously uncategorized self-interactions are grouped under a Sim Options… pie-menu category. EA’s examples include Disable Attraction, Set Rock Paper Scissors Preference, Utensil Preference and Sim Physique.
Save Backup tracking was recalculated to handle players who go for long periods between sessions more reliably.
What did the Dine Out fixes actually fix?
The update addresses more than 25 Dine Out issues. Customers should no longer leave a restaurant to jog, view décor, dig in trash, hug, do University homework, follow Eco Lifestyle N.A.P. activities, watch television, give mirror pep talks, react to celebrities, play paper airplanes or duel while dining.
Other restaurant fixes cover waiter-shift and employee interactions, recipe-skill tuning, Sims standing while eating, waiter dish cleanup, table footprints, toilet pranks, Snowy Escape menu ordering, business funds, Boba Tea presentation, staff uniforms, unconsumed food and drinks, weather-attire options and an unwanted Create a Sim switch when editing uniforms. EA also added a guardrail for restaurant Error Code 123:6346675a.
What other bug and crash fixes matter?
Community and loading fixes include an endless lot-placement load related to Move Objects, an infinite white screen affecting certain saves, Sims freezing after naps or other interactions, routing freezes, and failures when ordering from a bartender who is busy.
Food behavior fixes make Sims more likely to remain seated while eating, keep dishes on dining tables or counters, move another Sim’s prepared food into a refrigerator and avoid inappropriate autonomous actions.
Additional pack-specific fixes include seasonal food-stall and grill behavior; Cottage Living Simple Living recipes; Horse Ranch nectar notifications; For Rent pressure-cooker and vegetarian moodlet behavior; Adventure Awaits scheduled dish cleaning; Outdoor Retreat horseshoe autonomy; and My Wedding Stories Tartosa food-stand inventory. Each requires the named pack.
Stability work covers Windows signed-file crashes, lot-loading cursor and UI crashes, trait-incompatibility loads, EA app launch crashes, romance-story progression crashes, large Gallery-family uploads, a PlayStation main-menu network race, Eco Lifestyle window-placement asserts, Social Bunny reactions, Growing Together infant-carrier reloads and Royalty & Legacy household-transfer asserts. On console, the patch also addresses a Gallery freeze lasting more than 20 seconds and a PlayStation Live-to-Build loading delay.
EA says the decrease in crashes after September’s fixes was notable across platforms, but it does not publish a numerical percentage for that reduction.
How should players interpret the update?
The patch is best understood across five areas: free Elder CAS and Build additions; global and per-Sim body-change controls; food and Family Recipes behavior; everyday interaction controls; and a wide set of bug and crash fixes. The update itself is free, while any change tied to an expansion or game pack remains dependent on owning that pack.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Elder items available without buying a pack?
Yes. The listed Elder hairs, clothing, recolors, Build Mode objects, Styled Looks and Styled Room are free base-game content in this update. Pack ownership is not needed for those assets.
Does Family Recipes now include every dish in The Sims 4?
No. It accepts more than 375 existing dishes, but a small number remain excluded for technical or fit reasons. Graham crackers are specifically cited as an excluded example.
Can I disable muscle changes but keep weight changes enabled?
Yes. Allow Weight Changes and Allow Muscle Changes are separate settings, and the Sim Physique interaction also lets you control them independently for an individual Sim.
Where can I find the four Elder Sims shown with the update?
They are provided as a Gallery household alongside the Elder Styled Looks and Styled Room included in the “Classic Elder Looks & Cozy Nooks” release.