EA and The Sims 4 have invited their most distinguished players (kidding, obviously) to explore the new Royalty & Legacy expansion, and I was one of the lucky few who have been hands-on with the pack for the last few weeks. I always wonder where EA comes up with their ideas, but The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy truly feels like something that could have been a core part of the game from the very beginning.
Honestly, it is surprising to me that something involving royalty hasn’t been a core part of The Sims 4 before, and until I played it, I had no idea what I was missing. The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy bring something to the table for every kind of Sims player. Whether you want to focus on building a stunning estate, rise the ranks in the new Nobility career or focus on relationships and make use of the new WooHoo spots (hello Secret Passageway Entrance!), this expansion has it covered.
For this preview, I wanted to balance a bit of all three playstyles. First, I wanted to jump into my character design, I needed to be dressed like a Queen after all. I wanted this character to look her best at — almost — all times. The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy brings a pile of new, glamorous hairstyles, accessories and outfits to go with your characters. I particularly loved some of the crown options, and my daughter and I really enjoyed creating an over-the-top formal outfit. There is everything from new bathing suits to hairstyles to accessories and even nightgowns, too.
“The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy truly feels like something that could have been a core part of the game from the very beginning.”
In terms of my home, I would normally focus on the bare minimum. Just enough to raise my skills and stop my Sim from hating me. I spent quite a bit of time designing a beautiful estate, making use of all the new features. For one, there are prebuilt rooms. This isn’t new to the game overall, but I loved the styled rooms in this expansion: The Estate Eatery (kitchen), A Dine-asty Experience (dining room), Oval Training Ground (swordsmanship training) and Regal Revelry (ballroom).
With that, though, come very high prices; at the top is the ballroom for over 70,000 Simoleons. As someone who generally doesn’t adore decorating every nook and cranny, though, the price was worth it for something beautiful and the ease of use. It’s so glamorous! Plus, these rooms will help you with your Nobility career too, where else will you hold your ball—well, a few places around town if you want, but this is so much easier! I was surprised they didn’t create throne rooms, however. I built my own, and it just isn’t as pretty!
The next area I chose to really focus on was the Nobility career, since a lot of The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy gameplay really relies on it. First, you need to learn about it. There should be a book called The Duchess Diaries on one of your bookshelves that will unlock it for you. You rise through the ranks like any career, except your days are a little freer. You don’t disappear for a full day; you take on your royal duties where you are. Throw a party, or, if you choose, take off for the day to visit heritage sites or present at schools like a good noble would.
Something to note, you have to head to your throne and accept your promotion. I was waiting for days and couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t getting promotions, when all I needed to do was sit in the fancy chair and say yes! A lot happens from your throne, actually. You can hold court, listen to the townspeople’s complaints and make decisions for them, head off on one of those “noble ventures” I mentioned, or make other notable noble decisions, like decrees. These could raise the quality of food in the kingdom, allow higher chances for pregnancy, or even lessen the chance of elders dying from WooHoo. It’s serious business.
Your swordsmanship skill is one you need to master if you want to gain promotions. This is a new skill, and you can master it through one of the practice dummies. Once you learn it, you can also duel other Sims, and later on, can even duel for a Sim’s heart. A tip: You can buy the sword from the dummy itself; it took me forever to find it, and I had to ask someone to help me.
Dynasties are a major addition to The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy, and they can get pretty intricate if you choose to really get into it. In the three new areas, there are families of nobility. Bellacorde is the Capp family, Verdemar is the Thebe family, and Dambele has the Darong Family. You could find a way to marry into nobility, but I preferred making my own dynasty and convincing someone to marry into mine. Independent woman and whatnot.
My route was a bit simpler, but if you do start to entwine with other family trees, there is something called secret connections. Your family tree will show who is considered noble and who is not, but these secret connections may show on one person’s tree and not another, implying affairs and secret children. In your dynasty, you can also choose what traits and skills will matter most. As you gain more prestige, you will earn Dynasty Perk Points, which you can spend to help your dynasty. These can help you raise your skill points faster, increase stock values, or learn other Sims’ secrets, if you so choose.
“The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy expansion feels like an incredibly detailed addition to the long-running game.”
Something I love is that The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy doesn’t just focus on your British monarchy kind of royalty, either. Yes, there are absolutely options to go that route, but EA also worked with the Pan Africa Gaming Group (PAGG) on the design and artwork to bring African culture to this expansion, too. You can also change the names of your Dynasty, meaning they don’t need to fall into Kings and Queens, but can offer alternatives like Emperors, Emperesses, Chiefs, Sultans and more, meaning that your royal family can really be customized.
The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy expansion feels like an incredibly detailed addition to the long-running game. I think it really has a chance to refresh the game for players who have lost steam, but it is also likely to bring new players in, because who doesn’t want to be a Queen—or a Countess, in my case? The fact that Royalty & Legacy adds so much to the game means it is bringing something to the table for every kind of Sims player. This was a huge undertaking for EA, but they certainly crushed it.
The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy Expansion releases on February 12, 2026, and you can pre-order it here.
