EA has been in a bit of a revitalising mood for The Sims 4 of late, revisiting and improving a range of existing features, and that spirit of rejuvenation continues with the game's latest update, which adds a massive 1,200 colour variants to a whole heap of items.

In total, 149 Build Mode items from the base game have received new colour options as part of the update, including cups, curtains, windows, lamp shades, floorboards, action figures, bins, ovens (and other assorted kitchen appliances), plus a huge range of furniture - from bookshelves and coffee tables to chairs and beds.

The goal of all this, explains EA over on the official Sims 4 forum, is to "complement and enhance [the game's existing] assets so Simmers have more choices and have more use out of them". Certainly, if you've ever found yourself frustrated that you couldn't match your window box to your wastebasket in the past, your prayers may finally have been answered.

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One of The Sims 4's earliest expansions, 2015's Spa Day, is getting a refresh next week, introducing a whole range of new features and improvements that'll be free to existing owners.

The original Spa Day (one of EA's mid-tier Game Packs, sitting between the smaller-scale Stuff Packs and more substantial Expansion Packs) brought a focus on health and relaxation to the Sims 4, adding the new spa building type where visiting Sims could de-stress and re-energise, enjoying everything from steam baths and stone massages to yoga and meditation.

As outlined in developer Maxis' latest livestream, next week's surprisingly expansive update to Spa Day will bring new features and tighter integration with the core game. There's a new High Maintenance trait, for instance, which can be soothed by a day at the spa, giving a little more impetus to use the facilities. Meanwhile, the old Wellness skill has now been expanded so that child Sims can take advantage of its calming benefits by participating in yoga and meditation (while wearing some new activity appropriate clothing, no less).

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What better way to enjoy the summer months than an escape to the countryside for some idyllic cottage living? And what better way to do it without the inconvenience of ever actually having to leave your house than with the Sim's 4's latest expansion?

The Sims 4: Cottage Living, which arrives on 22nd July, is the tenth full-scale Expansion Pack (and 42nd bit of paid DLC) to launch for life sim since its release in 2014, and - as its name very much implies - is all about cosy cottages and rustic charm.

Unsurprisingly, top of the list of features coming in Cottage Living is the ability to settle down in a charmingly rustic new abode. Here, players can befriend the likes of wild rabbits, foxes, and birds, while also raising their own animals - including llamas, chickens, and cows for wool, eggs, and milk respectively - in order to start their journey to self-sufficiency.

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There'll soon be something strange in the neighbourhood courtesy of The Sims 4's newly revealed Paranormal Stuff Pack, which is scheduled to rain its spectral antics down upon Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Mac, and PC on 26th January.

The Sims 4's Paranormal Stuff Pack introduces a range of ghostly features and diversions, including new Haunted House Lots enabling Sims to settle into homes that come with their very own ghosts in residence - undead occupants that can either be appeased for some peace and quiet or left to rampage around the house, scaring up a storm.

Other new additions include the option for Sims to hold seances and commune with the dead, banishing unwanted guests, removing accursed objects, receiving gifts from across the astral plane, even summoning recurring Sims character Bonehilda the skeletal maid, in the process.

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It's currently Hispanic Heritage Month in the US, and The Sims 4 is celebrating with a bunch of colourful, culturally inspired free in-game items, including recipes, clothing, and outdoor decor.

Introducing the free new update on the official Sims 4 website, EA explained that its latest additions are the result of a brainstorming session by SOMOS EA, an employee resource group focussed on "advancing EA's diversity and inclusion by ensuring a culture where Hispanic/Latinx employees can thrive."

The result of this brainstorming, says EA, was a list of items members of the group felt best represented them, their families, and their various cultures - and a selection of these are now available in-game for players to utilise in their day-to-day activities and designs.

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It's currently Hispanic Heritage Month in the US, and The Sims 4 is celebrating with a bunch of colourful, culturally inspired free in-game items, including recipes, clothing, and outdoor decor.

Introducing the free new update on the official Sims 4 website, EA explained that its latest additions are the result of a brainstorming session by SOMOS EA, an employee resource group focussed on "advancing EA's diversity and inclusion by ensuring a culture where Hispanic/Latinx employees can thrive."

The result of this brainstorming, says EA, was a list of items members of the group felt best represented them, their families, and their various cultures - and a selection of these are now available in-game for players to utilise in their day-to-day activities and designs.

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It's been only a day since The Sims 4 Star Wars expansion pack Journey to Batuu was released in full, but it sure didn't take long for players to find their way around the DLC's restrictions - and now we have Reylo in the Sims. It's the happy ending we never got in The Rise of Skywalker.

If you're a little outside the Star Wars fandom loop, Reylo is a popular romance theory shipping Kylo Ren and Rey that ended up becoming slightly more official by the end of The Rise of Skywalker. When a Star Wars expansion for the Sims 4 was announced, many players immediately wondered if NPCs like Rey and Kylo would be romanceable in the game, but soon discovered that EA had placed plenty of restrictions on romantic interactions with the characters. Players couldn't flirt with the Star Wars NPCs, while the special Batuu areas to which they are restricted are deliberately devoid of beds. Clearly, Disney didn't want any of its trademark-protected characters rolling around in the galactic hay.

Not to be deterred, players on The Sims' forum immediately started looking for ways around the problem, and found a couple of different solutions. While Rey and Kylo are prevented from romancing each other as NPCs, players uploaded the official EA models to The Sims 4's gallery, meaning anyone can now download the pair as a household and make them move in together, with everything that entails. I had a go at this, and making the pair play-fight was surprisingly wholesome.

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The Sims 4 is ditching its suburban comforts for a life of adventure in a a galaxy far, far away, thanks to imminent arrival of its latest Game Pack expansion, Star Wars: Journey to Batuu.

As its name suggests, The Sims 4 newest expansion, jets players and their tiny digital charges to Batuu, a remote terrestrial planet at the edge of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories. Here, Sims can explore Black Spire Outpost (also the setting for Disney's various new Star Wars theme park lands), where they can eat, shop, dodge Stormtroopers, and admire the Millennium Falcon.

It's also possible for Sims to pledge their allegiance to either the Resistance or the First Order while in Batuu, embarking on missions at the behest of DJ R-3X, the droid in charge of the music at Oga's Cantina, to earn rewards and a raise their reputation within a particular faction.

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