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What Is the Legacy Collection?
The Sims Legacy Collection is the 2025 re-release of the original The Sims (2000) and all seven expansion packs, in a single digital purchase. Released January 31, 2025 on Steam, EA App, and Epic Games Store. It is digital only – no physical or boxed edition was released. It replaces the older Complete Collection as the standard way to buy the original game new.
INCLUDED What's included
Base game (2000) plus all 7 expansion packs: Livin' Large, House Party, Hot Date, Vacation, Unleashed, Superstar, and Makin' Magic. Also grants The Sims 4 with the Throwback Fit Pack on the same EA account. Digital only - available on Steam, EA App and Epic Games Store. No physical or boxed edition was released.
NOT INCLUDED Licensed content removed
Branded objects (McDonald's cart, Pepsi machine, Intel computer) and licensed Simlish songs were removed when their licenses expired. These are fully archived and can be added manually – see the Missing Maxis Content section below.
ℹ️ The Legacy Collection runs on the same underlying game code as the original. Almost all mods and CC made for the original Sims 1 still work, with path adjustments and a few technical differences covered on this page.
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History of The Sims 1 Releases
| Year | Release | EP Icon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Sims (base game) |  | Original release. Base game only. Hard limits: 200 objects/category, 90 walls, 63 floors. |
| 2000 | Livin' Large (EP1) |  | New objects, careers, NPCs. Raises wall and floor CC caps to 65,000. |
| 2001 | House Party (EP2) |  | Party system, costume trunk, entertainment objects. |
| 2001 | Hot Date (EP3) |  | Downtown lots, clothing racks. Introduces buyable skins – L, F, S filename prefixes. |
| 2002 | Vacation (EP4) |  | Vacation islands. Winterwear (W prefix) buyable skins. |
| 2002 | Unleashed (EP5) |  | Pets, outdoor gardening, neighbourhood editing. Raises build mode object limit to 2,000. |
| 2002 | Deluxe Edition |  | Base game + Livin' Large + The Sims Creator tool + exclusive Deluxe content (25+ objects, 50+ skins). Replaced standalone base game in retail. |
| 2003 | Superstar (EP6) |  | Celebrity system, Studio Town. High Fashion (H prefix) buyable skins. |
| 2003 | Double Deluxe |  | Deluxe Edition + House Party + The Sims Creator + bonus disc with exclusive African and Asian-themed content. |
| 2003 | Makin' Magic (EP7) |  | Magic system, spells, and baking. Final expansion pack. |
| 2004 | Mega Deluxe |  | Double Deluxe + Hot Date. North America only. Released on Mac as "The Sims: Party Pack". |
| 2004 | Triple Deluxe |  | Double Deluxe + Vacation. UK and Ireland only. |
| 2004 | Full House |  | Base game + all 7 EPs. Australia, New Zealand and South Africa only. |
| 2005 | Complete Collection |  | Retail boxed set with base game + all 7 EPs + Deluxe and Double Deluxe bonus content + The Sims Creator. Common in old forum posts as "TCC" or "CC". Mods made for this version work in Legacy with path adjustments. |
| 2025 | Legacy Collection |  | Digital re-release for Windows 10/11. Vulkan renderer, new save location, no registry entries. All 7 EPs + Deluxe/Double Deluxe bonus content included. |
EP icons: Legacy Collection and Complete Collection icons sourced from IGN. Compilation box art from MobyGames, Internet Archive, and Amazon. All other EP icons by sairitvs on DeviantArt ↗.
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Expansion Pack Folder Reference
Which folder number is which pack
When mod readmes say to put files in "ExpansionPack4" or similar, here's what each number means. These folder names are identical in both Steam and EA App installs.
| Folder | Expansion Pack | Key modding notes |
|---|---|---|
| ExpansionPack1 | Livin' Large | Raises wall and floor CC limits from base game caps to 65,000 |
| ExpansionPack2 | House Party | Costume trunk objects, party system |
| ExpansionPack3 | Hot Date | Introduces buyable skins – L, F, S filename prefixes. Clothing racks on Downtown lots |
| ExpansionPack4 | Vacation | Winterwear (W prefix) buyable skins. Vacation island lots |
| ExpansionPack5 | Unleashed | Raises build mode object limit to 2,000. Pet skins and neighbourhood editing |
| ExpansionPack6 | Superstar | High Fashion (H prefix) buyable skins. Studio Town lots |
| ExpansionPack7 | Makin' Magic | Magic objects, baking items, final expansion |
| ExpansionShared | Shared assets | Contains SkinsBuy\ folder for L/F/S/W/H prefix buyable clothing |
| GameData | Base game data | Contains Skins\, Walls\, Floors\, Objects\, Roofs\ subfolders |
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Technical Changes vs the Original
What actually changed under the hood
New renderer: Vulkan replaces DirectDraw
The biggest change. The original game used DirectDraw (part of DirectX), which caused severe compatibility issues on modern Windows. Legacy Collection replaces this with Vulkan, giving full GPU acceleration and full colour depth. This is why Legacy requires a Vulkan-compatible GPU – most GPUs from 2013 onwards qualify. If you get a "Vulkan Initialization Failed" error on launch, see the Game Troubleshooting page.
Save files moved to a dedicated folder
In the original game, UserData folders sat inside the game's install directory. Legacy Collection moves them to
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Electronic Arts\The Sims 25\. On first launch the game copies the default neighbourhood templates there. Steam Cloud saves are not supported – back up this folder manually if you play on multiple machines.No Windows Registry entries
The original game wrote its install path to the Windows Registry. Older CC creation tools (The Sims Creator, Home Crafter) use this to find the game automatically. Legacy Collection creates no registry entries. Old tools may fail to find your game or save output to the wrong location. See CC Troubleshooting for the registry fix.
No Steam Cloud saves
Save files are not synced via Steam Cloud. Back up
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Electronic Arts\The Sims 25\ manually before reinstalling or switching machines. Some mods write data to save files permanently, so keeping a backup is especially important.Steam executable is DRM-protected
The Steam version's Sims.exe is wrapped in Steam DRM. Mods that directly patched the original exe will not work. FaithBeam's Legacy Collection Hacks tool unlocks the
edit_char debug cheat by patching the game in memory at runtime – it does not permanently modify any files. Run Sims1LegacyHacks.exe before launching the game each session and keep it open while you play. Works on both Steam and EA App versions – no Steamless required. See the Must-Have Mods page.Native mouse wheel zoom
The original Sims 1 had no native scroll wheel support – you zoomed using keyboard shortcuts or on-screen buttons. Legacy Collection adds native mouse wheel zooming. Scroll up to zoom in, scroll down to zoom out, across all view modes.
Alt+Enter cycles display modes
Pressing Alt+Enter while the game is running cycles through the available display modes for your monitor, including fullscreen and windowed. The number of modes available depends on your monitor resolution.
Configuration files are encrypted
The original Complete Collection stored settings in editable plain text .ini files. The Legacy Collection encrypts its config files – you cannot manually edit settings outside what the in-game options menu (F5) provides. This also means some power-user tweaks possible in the original are not available in Legacy.
EA intro video removed
The original game opened with an EA/Maxis intro video sequence. Legacy Collection skips this entirely and goes straight to the main menu. The
-skip_intro launch flag has no effect since there is no intro to skip. A Reddit workaround exists to manually restore the intro video for the Complete Collection version, but this does not work with Legacy Collection – EA changed something in the exe that prevents it.💻
System Requirements
| Component | Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit) | Does not run on Windows 7, 8, Vista, or XP |
| GPU | Vulkan-compatible GPU | Most GPUs from 2013 onwards support Vulkan (NVIDIA GTX 700+, AMD GCN series, Intel Iris Xe). Check your GPU's Vulkan support at vulkan.gpuinfo.org |
| GPU drivers | Up to date | Outdated drivers are the most common cause of Vulkan errors – update before troubleshooting anything else |
| RAM | 4 GB | The original game used very little memory by modern standards |
| Storage | ~5 GB | Plus mods and CC – keep Downloads folder under 2.5 GB |
| Platform | Steam, EA App, or Epic Games | Digital only, no disc version |
| Steam Deck | Supported | Community reports consistently positive – game runs well on Deck |
⚠️ Older Intel integrated graphics warning: Intel HD Graphics chips older than Iris Xe (pre-2020, typically 4th-8th gen Core) often do not support Vulkan. If you have only an older Intel integrated GPU, the Legacy Collection may not run. The original Complete Collection (DirectDraw) will work on these systems, but Legacy Collection requires Vulkan.
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EA Patch History
Official patches released since launch
✅ For the latest patch notes, see EA's official page: ea.com/games/the-sims/news
| Date | Patch | Key changes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Feb 2025 | 1 | Launch-day hotfixes. Fixed game closing immediately at launch, Alt+Enter crash, travel screen garbling, and crash when saving in non-default neighbourhood. |
| 6 Feb 2025 | 2 | Memory leak fix, Vulkan device error improvements, mood bar visual artifacts, and mouse scroll wheel zoom sensitivity. |
| 12 Feb 2025 | 3 | Import path fix (Sims/houses now import from the correct save directory), -maxaspect launch flag added, roach spraying fix, and missing Work/School portrait icons restored. |
| 20 Feb 2025 | 4 | Visual artifacts on 2K monitors fixed, blue UI panel fill, pool edge tile rendering, and mouse pointer alignment in build/buy. |
| 27 Feb 2025 | 5 | Save directory recreation, Goth house crash fix, crash on wake from sleep, and snapshot text now saves correctly. |
| 14 Mar 2025 | 6 | Major update – in-game resolution and window size options added, pixel scaling overhauled, window freely resizable, game-minimises-when-unfocused bug fixed, portrait camera fix, and Tragic Clown shower crash fixed. |
| 3 Apr 2025 | 7 | Warning added for Windows usernames with special characters that cause crashes, edge-scrolling zone expanded, Sim portrait camera position fix, townie name randomisation improved, and travel loading screen scaling fixed. |
| 10 Apr 2025 | 8 | Sims 2 only – CAS layout fix on 1280×800, and text input field fix. |
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Missing Official Maxis Content
The "Get Cool Stuff" downloads not included in Legacy
Between 2000 and 2003, Maxis ran a "Get Cool Stuff" section on the official Sims website with free downloadable objects, skins, tools and houses. Most of this was not included in Legacy Collection – either because licenses expired (branded objects) or it was simply not bundled. The community has archived all of it and made it Legacy-compatible.
🚨 Do not run the original .exe installers. The original Maxis downloads were distributed as Windows installers that look for the game in the old Complete Collection registry path. They will fail silently on Legacy. Use the GitHub archive below instead – files are pre-extracted and ready to copy.
RECOMMENDED Legacy-ready archive
alon-abadi on GitHub has packaged all known Maxis "Get Cool Stuff" content specifically for Legacy Collection. Files are extracted and organised by destination folder. Includes objects (McDonald's cart, Pepsi machine, Intel computer etc.), promotional skins, NPC templates and official houses.
GitHub Archive ↗
ARCHIVE Full original collection
Complete archive of the original Maxis site content on Internet Archive – all objects, tools, skins, homes and graphics packs. Contains original .exe files. Open them with 7-Zip as archives rather than running them – extract and copy files manually.
Archive.org ↗
ℹ️ How to install from the GitHub archive: Download the ZIP, extract it, and copy files to the folders shown in the folder names. Objects to
Downloads\, skins to GameData\Skins\ etc. No installer needed.