All Expansions For The Sims 2, Ranked

The lifespan of an entry in The Sims series used to be much shorter, with The Sims 2 launching only a scant four years after the first. This ambitious successor had a lot to live up to, with The Sims considered a legacy PC game, easily one of the most iconic of our time.

But The Sims 2 didn’t flinch or skip a beat, launching in September 2004 with a bevy of improvements in the base game alone – like the 360-view camera and taking genetics into account when two Sims had a baby, to name a few. And while the base game itself was great, it wouldn’t really be a Sims game without a couple of add-ons.

Eight expansion packs were released over the course of the game’s five-year run, each bringing with them new ways to spice up our digital dollhouses. Some were new variants of expansions from the first game, while others brought completely new things into the series. We wanted to look back and reminisce about the various expansions that were released for The Sims 2.

Updated January 9, 2025, by Zoë J. Osik: We’ve updated our guide with the release of The Sims 2: legacy Edition to reevaluate what each expansion pack has offered over the years. As a classic staple in gaming, The Sims 2 still holds up after 20 years of havoc in SimCity.

8

Pets

Although The Sims 2: Pets didn’t come with a new neighborhood, it did come with several pre-made lots and families. Cats and dogs returned to the series again, bringing with them birds and gerbils this time around. Adopt your new family member or head into the new Create-a-Pet system to make your own, choosing from 30 different cats and over 70 breeds of dogs as a template.

Your fluffy friends could also earn their keep in The Sims 2, with pets able to begin careers that pay out Simoleons and rewards just like your actual Sims’ jobs despite not being able to directly control your animal companions. This expansion also introduced werewolves, too, a supernatural spectacular that’s stuck with the series ever since.

7

Nightlife

Meant to get your Sims out of their house, Nightlife introduced a Downtown area specifically designed with partying in mind. Home to new places like shops, restaurants, nightclubs, and residential lots, your Sims now had a whole new way to blow off steam. Nightlife also introduced other central features, like grand vampires and stylish vehicles, too.

One of the residential lots in the Downtown area is secretly a vampire lair!

This was also where we saw the infamous Grilled Cheese Aspiration introduced. If your Sim tried to change their original aspiration but was unsuccessful, this gooey sandwich would become the only thing they wanted to eat, talk about, or even think about. Mmm, grilled cheese.

6

Bon Voyage

The Sims returned once again to offer yet another set of vacation packages to your families with the Bon Voyage expansion pack. This time, we got a woodland area, the return of a beach destination, and an invigorating dip into the cultural contrast of the Far East. Each location had different things for your Sims to do in their off time: go swimming and sunbathing, camping and log riding, or for a massage and a dip in a hot spring.

Your Sims could even get bonuses from their vacations, successful or not. Boring trips imparted the “jetlagged” bonus, while enjoyable ones could sometimes send Sims home with a boost to their career or even an extra want. Vacation homes were even available for purchase! The most compelling addition, however, was the hunt to find and befriend Bigfoot so he could move into your household.

5

FreeTime

Maxis understood that everyone has different interests, and sought to introduce several new options in the FreeTime expansion pack. Sims could now pursue a whopping ten passions with several new careers to match. Each hobby had a handful of ways in which it could be pursued.

With enough enthusiasm in a hobby, a sim could even find a genie lamp!

Cooking enthusiasts could watch food-centric TV shows to contribute to their hobby, unlock new recipes, enter food contests, and even use a nectar-making table. Scientifically-inclined Sims were able to find aliens and, if they were male, occasionally getting abducted and coming back pregnant with an alien bundle of joy. The downside is that Sims would gain enthusiasm in every hobby, even if you didn’t want them to.

4

Open For Business

Introducing the world of Bluewater Village as the new place to go for all your shopping needs – buying, of course, but also selling – Open for Business gave Sims even more control. Not only were you able to go shopping at the new slew of stores, you were also able to own and operate said stores, too.

You’ll find a toyshop, florist, baker, and a rich tycoon who owns both a nightclub and an electronics store by default, but your Sim is able to enter the fray by opening a shop of their own, too. Any sort of store is possible, so long as you can imagine it. Additionally, Sims could earn talent badges and eventually build a Servo – an ever-so devoted android that did free labor around the house so long as they were treated well.

3

Seasons

Weather-related packs have usually been the ones to change Sims games the most, arguably, and The Sims 2: Seasons was very much like that. Before the pack, every day was a bland and sunny day, but Seasons introduced a weather system. Now it could rain, hail, and snow. Your Sim could freeze without proper clothing and get heatstroke in the summer.

Riverblossom Hills was the new neighborhood from this pack, and it was where your Sims could do all sorts of outdoor, weather-related activities: jumping in puddles, raking leaves, making snowmen, or even having heat strokes and getting sunburns. Additionally, PlantSims were introduced in this pack – they were green, able to reproduce asexually, and made for much more effective gardeners than human Sims. The downside is that their lives were considerably shorter than their human counterparts.

2

Apartment Life

The final expansion released for The Sims 2, the new world of Belladonna Cove took huge and very obvious inspiration from real-world New York City. Find a few NPC roomies and move into a new place downtown to start your life in the big city. The world came with things like libraries, coffee shops, parks, grocery stores, and even a trailer park, but the main draw was, obviously, urban apartment living.

The term apartment can be used loosely, as duplexes and multi-structure properties can be created as well!

Bang on the walls if your neighbors are too loud and utilize closets and elevators as new WooHoo locations. The expansion also introduced magic into The Sims 2, in addition playground furniture, a vibrating bed, and even more ridiculous things like helicopters and butlers.

1

University

Ah, college – the first time young adults are free of their parents (and, fun fact, the first time Young Adults were in the Sims at all). There were three schools your Sims could attend, with over ten majors and four graduate-exclusive jobs. Dorm life included living with other students in tiny rooms, pulling pranks, having pillow fights, and forming study groups to socialize while you learn. Occasionally, you could resurrect your roommates as zombies.

There were also scholarships that’d let you move into a private residence, or Greek houses, if frat life was more your thing.

Classmates could bond by spending time at a bubble machine, hitting up the juice keg together, or just playing Kicky Bag in the quad. This first expansion for The Sims 2 made the biggest splash, and University is, almost two decades later, still widely considered the best expansion pack for The Sims 2. It introduced a host of things that remained central to the series’ gameplay, like an influence system and the ability to play instruments.