With the launch of the Enchanted by Nature expansion pack today, The Sims 4 community should be basking in the glow of magical forests, whimsical builds, and new green-thumbed adventures. But instead of celebrating, many players are scrambling to troubleshoot one of the most frustrating bugs to hit The Sims 4 in months: broken pregnancy mechanics. What should have been a smooth release day has once again been overshadowed by a familiar story for longtime Simmers: a major DLC launch plagued by technical issues that directly impact the game’s core functionality. While the magical additions of Enchanted by Nature are welcome, they’ve landed in a game that’s momentarily broken in some of its most crucial places.
Life-simmers knew that July 10 might be rocky for The Sims 4 fans, especially after the July 1 patch introduced a series of disruptive bugs. But few expected pregnancy, a foundational system tied to legacy challenges, family gameplay, and generational storytelling, to be hit this catastrophically.
The Sims 4 Needs to Address the Elephant in the Room Before Enchanted by Nature
The Sims 4: Enchanted by Nature will expand several features from the base game, but a lack of fixes for one system could lead to trouble.
The Sims 4’s Pregnancy Glitch Explained
In the July 1 base game update, Maxis unintentionally introduced a widespread bug that has disrupted The Sims 4’s pregnancy mechanics for a large portion of the player base. Though the patch was meant to lay the groundwork for Enchanted by Nature, it also introduced several regressions that now prevent many Sims from getting pregnant at all. Players are reporting variations of the same core issues:
- Trying for Baby doesn’t trigger the option for a pregnancy test, even after multiple successful attempts.
- In some cases, the Try for Baby interaction is entirely missing from beds and other WooHoo-friendly locations.
- When players do manage to get Sims pregnant, visuals may not reflect the change, resulting in non-existent pregnancy bellies.
- Popular The Sims 4 mods that expand on the game’s pregnancy mechanics, especially highly detailed ones like the Childbirth Mod, are reportedly broken or incompatible until the issue is patched.
- In a few rare cases, Sims can only successfully trigger a pregnancy test by using unconventional WooHoo locations, such as hot tubs or leaf piles.
Currently, the only reliable method to carry a baby in-game is to use the Try for Science Baby interaction on a computer or phone. While helpful for some, it bypasses the immersive experience that pregnancy-based gameplay typically offers. And for those working through family-oriented goals or challenge runs, such as the 100 Baby Challenge for The Sims 4, this bug is especially disruptive. Community members have already taken to social platforms to warn others not to update the game until a fix is confirmed.
The Latest Patch Didn’t Just Break Pregnancy
Unfortunately, pregnancy isn’t the only mechanic acting up in the wake of the latest patch. Players are also reporting a slew of glitches that affect both quality of life and day-to-day immersion in the game. Among the most common issues:
- Items won’t drag properly to trash cans or sinks, requiring extra steps to clean up after meals or projects.
- Gnomes are randomly shaking. This may be possibly tied to Enchanted by Nature, but with no apparent trigger or effect.
- Ceilings disappear in Build Mode, especially when placing pre-built rooms, preventing the game from recognizing these as enclosed spaces.
- Glass walls give Sims a negative “Poorly Decorated” Uncomfortable moodlet, which can affect their behavior and mood throughout the day.
- Work and school events are disrupted. If a household member travels to another lot, all other Sims leave work or school early, tanking performance scores.
- Some Sims eligible for promotion after completing the necessary milestones do not receive them. Reports suggest this may be linked to the Entrepreneurial trait from the Rewards Store.
- Visual bugs with custom tattoos and pet furs are causing Sims or animals to appear entirely blacked out. This bug has been a long-standing issue that appears to have resurfaced.
- Some items, like Whiteboards, can’t be placed at all, preventing Sims from leading classes or lectures tied to careers or hobby packs.
This combination of bugs makes it difficult for players to engage in both normal progression and more specialized content, especially frustrating when a highly anticipated DLC that features more occult gameplay options in The Sims 4 has just been released.
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A Buggy Tale As Old As Time for The Sims 4
On July 7, Sims devs acknowledged the broken pregnancy system, stating that they are “actively investigating issues related to Sim pregnancy.” While this offers some relief to players holding out for a hotfix, it also reinforces a long-standing frustration in the Sims community: major content releases are often accompanied by major technical issues. Historically, The Sims 4 has seen foundational systems, from relationships and aspirations to autonomy and save files, have broken immediately before or after a major expansion. And while many of these problems are eventually resolved, players are growing weary of the recurring cycle: update, bug, panic, fix, repeat.
Some of this tension is likely structural. The Sims 4’s core engine is over a decade old, and each new expansion pack piles more complexity onto an aging framework. This contrasts significantly with more modern competitors like InZOI and the upcoming Paralives whose bugs aren’t as cyclical. But no matter the cause, the result is the same: frustration and disappointment during moments that should be celebratory.
Will a Fix For The Pregnancy Glitch Arrive Soon?
The patch was released July 1. Enchanted by Nature is released today. Yet, it’s not yet clear when the pregnancy bug, or the many others reported, will be fully addressed. Some players are already rolling back their game versions or disabling auto-updates to preserve stable games. Others are relying on mod creators and community tools to patch over problems in the meantime. Maxis and EA have a track record of issuing fixes relatively quickly when issues impact core gameplay; however, the new DLC launch has made some fans nervous about even booting up the game at all. With Enchanted by Nature’s new features still fresh in the spotlight, it’s critical that a patch or workaround arrive sooner rather than later, or risk further damaging goodwill in an already patchwork ecosystem.
A History Haunted By Similar Issues
The Sims 4 remains one of the most expansive and creative life simulation experiences available, but it continues to be haunted by a reputation for instability. For a game that thrives on storytelling, family legacies, and player-driven worlds, bugs that disrupt basic mechanics like pregnancy, work, or customization hit harder than surface-level hiccups. Of course, these aren’t the worst bugs to hit The Sims 4, but they certainly rank highly.
The arrival of Enchanted by Nature should have been a huge win for both Maxis and its players. Instead, it may become a case study in how legacy infrastructure and updates can derail an otherwise exciting moment. Until a fix arrives, players may find themselves trading baby name lists for bug reports: a routine that The Sims 4 knows all too well.
The Sims 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
WHERE TO PLAY
Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
