Every The Sims game, ranked
All 4 The Sims games we hold, spanning 2000 to 2014: 2 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 234,000 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: The Sims 3 (GamingPickz Score 7.9), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with The Sims (2000) and follow the release-order timeline below.
The The Sims games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 2 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
2 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 2 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Mobile
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Every game by critic score
The grid above is built from Steam data, so it can only place the The Sims games that were on Steam. This one uses the Metacritic critic aggregate, which the older console-only entries have too, so the whole series lands on a single chart: critic score against release year.
On Steam (also has a GamingPickz Score) Console-only (Metacritic only)
2 best The Sims games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
The Sims 3 at a glance Released 2009 Studio Maxis Player sentiment 86% positive of 34,337 Critics 86/100 Price $19.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 86% shrinks to 86.0 on 34,337 reviews, then blends with the 86 critic aggregate, giving 7.9.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 2
The Sims 4
Best for: Trying the genre without spending anything
7.8GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceThe Sims 4 at a glance Released 2014 Studio Maxis Player sentiment 86% positive of 199,663 Critics No aggregate Price Free Steam Deck playable Install size 26 GB Accessibility 5 declared features Raw 86% shrinks to 86.0 on 199,663 reviews, giving 7.8. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Free to download, so trying it costs only time.
Worth checking first- Carries in-game purchases. Check what they cost before committing.
Only the 2 The Sims games with Steam review data can be scored and ranked. The complete series, scored or not, is charted in order below.
Best and worst entry
The best-received The Sims game we can score is The Sims 3 at 7.9. The lowest is The Sims 4 at 7.8, a 0.1-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: The Sims 4 at Free. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: The Sims 3, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the The Sims entries on Steam:
- Playable: The Sims 4
- Unsupported: The Sims 3
Platforms across the series
Where the 4 The Sims games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 4 of 4 |
| PlayStation | 4 of 4 |
| Xbox | 4 of 4 |
| Nintendo | 3 of 4 |
| Mobile | 1 of 4 |
The The Sims series, game by game
Every The Sims game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2000
The Sims
Metacritic 92The Sims is a 2000 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. Designed by Will Wright, the game allows players to create and control virtual people called Sims, build and furnish homes, and manage the Sims' needs, relationships, careers, and household finances. Its open-ended… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception The Sims received "universal acclaim" according to review aggregator Metacritic , which assigned the game a score of 92/100. The game received praise for its open-ended gameplay allowing players to choose their own goals and objectives, as well as its sound design, "crisp" graphics, and humor. Reviewers positively compared The Sims to Maxis' 1999 title SimCity 3000 . (Wikipedia)
- 2004
The Sims 2
Metacritic 90The Sims 2 is a 2004 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in The Sims series, and is the sequel to The Sims. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on September 14, 2004, and a port for MacOS by Aspyr was released on June 17, 2005. Eight… (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The Sims 2 received widespread critical acclaim, gaining a 90% score from aggregators Metacritic and GameRankings . On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, The Sims 2 average score of 90, based on 61 reviews, indicates "universal acclaim". The game also received the Editor's Choice Award from IGN and GameSpy upon final review of the finished product. (Wikipedia)
- 2009
The Sims 3
7.9The Sims 3: Create the perfect world with full customization at your fingertips. Refine personalities and help fulfill destinies. (Steam)
Reception
Reviews Reception Response from critics and gamers alike were generally favorable, with Metacritic calculating a score of 86/100 based on 75 reviews. PC Gamer awarded The Sims 3 a 92% and an Editor's Choice badge, calling it "The best Sims game yet". IGN awarded the PC version of The Sims 3 an 8. (Wikipedia)
- 2014
The Sims 4
7.8Play with life and discover the possibilities. Unleash your imagination and create a world of Sims that’s wholly unique. Explore and customize every detail from Sims to homes–and much more. (Steam)
Reception
Missing features controversy In the months leading up to the game's release in September 2014, Maxis revealed that several key gameplay features present in previous The Sims titles, such as swimming pools and toddler Sims, would be absent from The Sims 4 . Additionally, the open worlds and the "Create-a-Style" color customization gameplay technologies introduced in The Sims 3 would also be absent from the game. These announcements sparked backlash from… (Wikipedia)
The Sims, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
The Sims vs other series
How The Sims stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: The Sims vs Dungeons, The Sims vs ENDLESS Space, The Sims vs Europa Universalis, The Sims vs Hearts of Iron, The Sims vs Jurassic World Evolution, The Sims vs Men of War, The Sims vs Soda Dungeon, The Sims vs Stronghold Crusader, The Sims vs The Escapists, The Sims vs Transport Fever, The Sims vs Universe Sandbox, The Sims vs Victoria
Common questions
How many The Sims games are there?
We hold 4 The Sims games in the catalogue, released between 2000 and 2014. 2 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which The Sims game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, The Sims 3 rates highest at 7.9. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the The Sims games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2000 to 2014. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.