With a replacement seemingly waiting in the wings, EA announces The Sims Mobile is shutting down in January

EA is shutting down The Sims Mobile after seven years, with servers going offline – and all content becoming unplayable – on 20th January next year.

The Sims Mobile launched for iOS and Android in 2017, delivering a free-to-play Sims-style experience broadly similar to that of the main series. In January this year, however, EA announced there would be no more new content updates or events for The Sims Mobile, and the publisher has now confirmed the game’s imminent closure, sharing a detailed timeline for its shutdown.

As detailed on EA’s website, The Sims Mobile is being delisted from the iOS App Store and the Google Play Store today, 21st October, at 1.30pm UTC. This follows the release of a final update earlier this week giving unlimited energy to all players (energy was previously earnable or available for purchase with real money). A schedule of events, as listed below, will remain available to players until servers shut down at 1.59pm UTC on 20th January 2026, after which The Sims Mobile will be unplayable. Additionally, all Build Mode and Create A Sim content will be unlocked for all players from 6th January.

EA notes it’s no longer possible to purchase packs or spend real money within The Sims Mobile, but existing SimCash, Simoleons, and Tickets can be used until 20th January next year. Unspent currency is not eligible for a refund.

“On behalf of the entire Sims Mobile team,” the publisher’s announcement concludes, “thank you for sharing this amazing journey with us. We hope you enjoy the final update and that these final months allow everyone to finish projects, make memories, and celebrate their Sims.”

While EA hasn’t given a reason for The Sims Mobile’s shutdown, it’s likely in order to clear the way for its new mobile game, currently being referred to as The Sims Labs: Town Stories. Early footage from Town Stories leaked during playtests last year, when it was still being referred to as Project Rene. Further playtest footage – this time under the moniker City Life Game With Friends, and described as “small parts of a larger game concept” – surfaced in April, and it recently reemerged on Android as The Sims Labs: Town Stories.

Project Rene was initially announced in 2022, when it was described as a “next generation Sims game and creative platform”. However, EA’s plans had seemingly shifted dramatically by September last year, when it revealed it would no longer be pursuing a direct Sims 4 “replacement” – ie. The Sims 5 – and was instead focusing on a new approach that would allow players to keep their progress between titles and have an “ongoing experience”. Needless to say, Town Stories, with its apparent endless reward-incentivised to-do lists and front-and-centre currency focus, was not what fans were clamouring for.

For the time being, the series’ main focus remains on The Sim 4, which continues to receive major updates and expansions, despite now being a decade old. Its most recent expansion, the getaway themed Adventure Awaits, launched earlier this month, and is a good ‘un.