The Sims 4 Marketplace: moola, Creator Packs, and free gifts to grab before August 13

On Thursday, August 13, 2026, two countdowns hit zero in The Sims 4: the first wave of Creator Gifts, the free content distributed on the marketplace since June 11, will permanently leave the Free section, and the August sale on packs ends the same day. This weekend is therefore the last quiet moment to grab the Giant Eraser Lamp and the Fleur-de-Lis Dress without spending a single moola.

If you've been away from the game these past few months, here's a quick reminder: since March 17, 2026, The Sims 4 has featured a marketplace built directly into the game, with its own virtual currency, moola. This is no mere gimmick: Maxis has officially stopped producing Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs sold through the classic storefront. Heritage and Royalty, released on February 12, 2026, will remain the last Expansion Pack in the game's history.

This guide covers the in-game store from top to bottom: how moola works and how to avoid buying too much of it, how to navigate between the Discover, Browse, and My Collection tabs, and most importantly, how to claim the last free gifts before they're removed on August 13.

The marketplace, The Sims 4's new economic model

Announced on March 3, 2026, then launched on March 17 on PC and Mac, the marketplace arrived on April 16 on PlayStation and Xbox. Accessible from the main menu as well as in-game, it now brings together two types of content: official kits from Maxis, which are now released exclusively there (the Music Studio Kit from July 23, for instance, isn't sold on Steam or the EA App), and Creator Packs — referred to as such in EA's official communications — made by community members selected through the official The Sims Maker Program and paid based on their sales.

Three safeguards worth knowing about. First, everything sold on the marketplace is tested by The Sims team and translated into 18 languages, including French: the names displayed in-game are therefore officially localized. Second, older Expansion Packs, Game Packs, and Stuff Packs remain purchasable on Steam, the EA App, or the Epic Games Store — it's the production of new packs that has stopped, not the sale of the existing catalog. Finally, Maxis has confirmed unambiguously that mods and custom content installed outside the marketplace remain allowed, with nothing changing on that front.

Moola: tiers, conversions, and pitfalls to avoid

Moola is purchased with real money, in fixed tiers. Here is the current pricing:

As for spending, an official kit costs 500 moola, the equivalent of €4.99, while Creator Packs most often range between 200 and 400 moola depending on their content. Mechtasims' Simonne collection, a complete living room set, is for example priced at 400 moola.

The system's classic trap: the price tiers almost never match the exact price of items. Buying 500 moola for a pack priced at 400 leaves a leftover 100 moola that can't be used on its own, mechanically pushing you toward another purchase. The workaround is simple: only buy moola when you're about to pay for a specific item, at the closest tier, and never "in advance". And remember that free gifts also go through the Buy with Moola button, shown at 0 moola: no currency purchase is needed to claim them.

Discover, Browse, My Collection: finding your way around the store

The interface is built around three tabs. Discover acts as a showcase, with highlighted categories such as Featured, New and Free. Browse opens up the full catalogue, with filters (including a handy Free filter) and sorting by release date. My Collection, finally, brings together everything you own, whether purchased or claimed as gifts.

Once the purchase is confirmed, the content downloads and then activates after simply returning to the main menu — no need to fully restart the game or handle files as with traditional custom content. The items then appear in Buy Mode and in Create a Sim, alongside content from your regular packs. New releases come out weekly: the latest paid collection, a minimalist living room set from a community creator, went live on August 6.

Creator gifts: last days for two free items

Between June 11 and July 16, EA released two creator gifts every Thursday, as part of a time-limited pilot program. Each gift remained claimable for four weeks. As of August 8, only one window is still open, and it closes on August 13:

• Giant Eraser Lamp by HAENBI: an XXL eraser-shaped desk lamp, a nod to school supplies, available in eight colors — perfect for a desk corner or a teen's bedroom.
• Lily Flower Dress by Serenity: a short bohemian-inspired dress with lace details, available in ten colors for Create a Sim.

Here's how to claim it in four steps:

• Open the marketplace from the main menu or in-game;
• Go to the Free category under the Discover tab, or filter by Free in Browse;
• Select the gift, then confirm with Buy with Moola (the listed price is 0 moola);
• Let the download finish and return to the main menu to activate the content.

For reference, here is the complete schedule for this first wave:

Good news for the forward-thinking: any gift you've already claimed stays yours and can be viewed in My Collection after August 13. Only content that was never claimed will become inaccessible once its window closes.

The August sale also ends on the 13th

The same deadline applies on the other side of the shop: the August sale on the classic catalog ends on August 13 at 10 a.m. Pacific time — that's 7 p.m. in Paris. It covers a selection of packs discounted by up to -50% on the EA App, including Get Famous at -20% and Seasons... wait, let me stay faithful to the source: Legacy and Royalty at -20% and Enchanted Nature at -40%. If a pack is still missing from your collection, this is a reasonable window; just remember that these older packs are bought with euros on the usual storefronts, not with Moola.

Your checklist before August 13

• Claim the Giant Eraser Lamp and the Lily Flower Dress in the Free section — two minutes, zero Moola;
• Check in My Collection that the gifts from previous weeks you thought you'd claimed actually appear there;
• If a paid purchase tempts you, buy Moola at the tier closest to the price, never more;
• Take advantage of the EA App sale before August 13 at 7 p.m. if an expansion pack has been on your wish list for a while.

EA is presenting this first wave of gifts as a pilot: more free giveaways could follow if the initiative proves popular, but nothing has been announced beyond August 13. When in doubt, don't count on the Giant Eraser Lamp coming back: what's claimed is yours, what isn't disappears on Thursday.