Careful, Sim fans… The Burglar is back.
The Burglar, a familiar sight for those of us who’ve spent time with any of the older Sims games, is sneaking back into your life as part of the latest update for The Sims 4.
Rolling out across PC and console, the update (re)introduces Robin Banks, which means it’s time to hide your valuables well out of sight. She only strikes at night, usually only sneaking into homes when everyone’s asleep, but she has been known to attempt a daring heist even when Sims are awake… so be alert.
To combat the thief, Sims can make use of the handy burglar alarm. If Banks trips it, the police are guaranteed to turn up in time to arrest her and recover your goods. But even homes without an alarm can call the police, you just have to be quick about it. Or there’s vigilante justice, of course. It’s your call.
By design, burglar events are fairly unusual, but if you live for chaos, activate Lot Challenge Heist Havoc to boost your odds.
“We are so thrilled to finally bring the Burglar back into The Sims universe,” The Sims’ team wrote. “Sending a special shout out to our full team for making this a reality. Robin Banks isn’t just ready to rob your Sims’ houses — she’s here to steal your hearts too! What better way to celebrate The Sims 25th Birthday than with this nostalgic yet fresh addition? We hope you’re as excited as we are to see what kind of chaos Robin Banks will bring to your households.”
The Sims 4 may be 10 years old — and the series itself 25 years old — but last year, it attracted over 15 million new players.
In EA’s Q2 earning report, published towards the end of last year, we learned that The Sims 4, then a premium game, took four years to reach 20 million unique players. When it first went free-to-play in 2022, however, it gained a whopping 31 million new players out of the gate and reached a total of 85 million as of May 2024. And no, there’s currently still no plans for The Sims 5 at this time… Plum!
Vikki Blake is a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
