PCGame

The Sims™ 3

Open-world life simulation with customizable people, homes, and stories

The Sims Studio, Maxis · Published by Electronic Arts · Released Jan 27, 2011

Simulation

Reviews
Very Positive
85% of 34K
Recent reviews
Mostly Positive
72% of 72 in 30 days
Players
1,005
daily peak, Nov 7, 2026
Steam Deck
Unsupported
Last update on Steam
Unknown
no patch notes on Steam
Minimum PC
128 MB with support for P…
1 GB RAM · 6.5 GB disk
Full requirements

Metacritic: 86/100 (critic reviews)

What is The Sims™ 3?

A single-player, open-world life simulation set in a neighborhood. You create and customize people and homes, then guide careers, relationships, families, skills, and personal goals.

For you if...

  • +you want an open-world, single-player life sandbox
  • +you enjoy detailed character, home, and pattern customization
  • +you prefer self-directed careers, relationships, families, and skills

Not for you if...

  • −you want a guided story with fixed objectives
  • −you prefer multiplayer or competitive modes

What players say

85% of 33,567 reviews are positive · 72% of 72 in the last 30 days

Players praise the connected open world, flexible building and customization, and freedom to shape family stories. The most common complaints are failure to launch, crashes, stuttering, and poor performance on modern PCs; players often report needing unofficial patches or other workarounds. Many also criticize the cost of collecting the DLC.

Players over time

▼ -8% vs a month ago

Players online on Steam, one sample a day.

Highest since Sep 2026: 1,257 players on Sep 21, 2026.

Show the data
DayPlayers
Nov 7, 20261,005
Nov 6, 20261,022
Nov 5, 2026980
Nov 4, 20261,039
Nov 3, 20261,050
Nov 2, 20261,034
Nov 1, 2026959
Oct 31, 2026944
Oct 30, 2026892
Oct 29, 2026915
Oct 28, 2026913
Oct 27, 2026691
Oct 27, 2026984
Oct 26, 20261,096
Oct 25, 20261,063
Oct 24, 2026996
Oct 23, 2026913
Oct 22, 20260
Oct 21, 2026978
Oct 20, 2026968
Oct 19, 20261,084
Oct 18, 20261,092
Oct 17, 2026951
Oct 16, 2026892
Oct 15, 2026971
Oct 14, 20261,104
Oct 13, 20261,153
Oct 12, 20261,247
Oct 11, 20261,204
Oct 10, 20261,088
Oct 9, 20261,026
Oct 8, 20261,009
Oct 7, 20261,086
Oct 6, 20261,084
Oct 5, 20261,249
Oct 4, 20261,234
Oct 3, 20261,115
Oct 2, 2026979
Oct 1, 20261,009
Sep 30, 20261,047
Sep 29, 20261,050
Sep 28, 20261,131
Sep 27, 20261,143
Sep 26, 20261,034
Sep 25, 20261,005
Sep 24, 2026923
Sep 23, 2026745
Sep 23, 20261,063
Sep 22, 20261,079
Sep 21, 20261,257

Screenshots and trailer

The Sims™ 3 screenshot 1

The Sims™ 3 system requirements

Minimum: 128 MB with support for P…, 1 GB RAM, 6.5 GB of disk space.

As published by the developer.

Can my PC run The Sims™ 3?

Tell us your graphics card once and every game page will answer this for you.

Set up my PC →

Minimum

OS
Windows XP (Service Pack 2) or Windows Vista (Service Pack 1)
Processor
(XP) 2.0 GHz P4 processor or equivalent; (Vista) 2.4 GHz P4 processor or equivalent
Graphics
128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0
Memory
(XP) 1 GB; (Vista) 1.5 GB
Storage
At least 6.5 GB of hard drive space with at least 1 GB additional space for custom content

Does The Sims™ 3 have co-op or multiplayer?

No: single-player only, no multiplayer modes declared.

Does The Sims™ 3 run on Steam Deck?

Unsupported No: Valve rates it Unsupported on Steam Deck.

  • Not supported on SteamOS

PC version details

DRM
None declared on Steam
Controller
Keyboard and mouse
Platforms
Windows
Steam features
Family Sharing
Languages
Text only: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Swedish, Traditional Chinese.

Does The Sims™ 3 use AI-generated content?

No AI-generated content is disclosed on the game's Steam page.

Self-reported by the developer under Steam rules: it covers AI content that ships in the game, not tools used to make it. Steam page checked on Nov 6, 2026. How to filter AI games on Steam

Tags

19 DLC available.

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