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

Reviews: Very Positive; 86% of 34K
Recent reviews: Very Positive; 82% of 97 in 30 days
Playing now: 745; peak 24h 1,063
Steam Deck: Unsupported
Last update: Unknown; no patch notes found

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

86% of 34,383 reviews are positive · 82% of 97 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.

Screenshots and trailer

The Sims™ 3 system requirements

As published by the developer.

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

PC version details

DRM, required accounts, controller support and Steam features.

DRM: None declared on Steam
Controller: Keyboard and mouse
Platforms: Windows
Steam features: Family Sharing

Steam Deck: Unsupported

Not supported on SteamOS

Multiplayer and co-op

Single-player

Languages

Text only: Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese - Portugal, Russian, Spanish - Spain, Swedish, Traditional Chinese.