The Sims 4's next DLC will be a jewellery-crafting stuff pack, out on Leap Day
Dress your Sims head-to-toe in sparkly things or commune with the power of crystals in the moonlight.
After a few days of teasing via social media, we now know that The Sims 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack is the next add-on coming to EA's behemoth life simulator, and it turns out it'll be out very soon — at the end of this month. The pack looks to expand on the metal and crystal collecting systems that have been present since the base game, finally allowing your Sims to show off some bling after digging through the shiny rocks that spawn in the world.
Previously, the only uses for crystals and metals other than collecting them for satisfaction points was to examine them FOR SCIENCE and then display them as raw chunks, sell them, or slot them into the rather distracting Celestial Crystal Crown, which had some powerful effects but didn't exactly look stylish.
The new stuff pack significantly expands on the usefulness of metals and crystals, allowing Sims to craft a variety of cosmetic and decor items from the raw materials in their collections. Rest assured, those powerful mood effects aren't going anywhere once you set your shiny prizes in some jewellery, with an intriguing suggestion that you might want to "charge your crystals in the moonlight" now as well. It also looks as though you can even have your Sim propose to their significant other with a ring they designed and made themselves. Awwww.
Like several of its predecessors, the Crystal Creations Stuff Pack will add a new crafting skill: Gemology, which it seems will aid in both material collection and jewellery design. This is the second stuff pack to release for The Sims 4 since the DLC type returned from a long hiatus with last year's Home Chef Hustle Stuff Pack. It continues a welcome trend of Stuff Packs adding a significant gameplay addition alongside new cosmetics and furnishings, which typically goes over well given their usual price of £9 / $10.
This isn't the first time that The Sims franchise has featured jewellery making, although since its only appearance to date was in the 2004 console spin-off The Urbz: Sims in the City, this pack does technically mark its introduction to the core series. With The Sims 4 due to celebrate its 10th anniversary later this year, it shouldn't come as a surprise that we're seeing a lot of new ideas coming in now that most old favourite pastimes have been reintroduced via DLC or updates. But still, I don't think many of us had a 20-year-old console-exclusive minigame coming back as a new skill in The Sims 4 on our 2024 myshuno cards. (That's Simlish for bingo, before you ask.)
The Sims 4 Crystal Creations Stuff Pack is expected to release on February 29th.