Tips to Safeguard Your The Sims 4 Game When it Freezes

Imagine this scenario: You are in the midst of constructing your ideal home in The Sims 4 or meticulously customizing your Sim in the Create-A-Sim (CAS) mode when suddenly, the game freezes, halting all progress. If you’re facing this frustrating situation and are unsure of how to proceed, there’s a straightforward solution available to help you save your progress despite the freeze.

How to Save Your Game While It’s Frozen on Mac & PC

To initiate a save during a freeze, press ALT + F4 on Windows, or Command + Q on Mac. This action will prompt a dialogue box for saving, a feature unique to The Sims 4.

Unlike other games that would typically close immediately, you’ll see a message confirming if you want to save your game.

Once you execute this command, a popup window will appear, similar to the one shown in the illustration below:

Image showing the save game prompt that appears in The Sims 4 — EA / Dexerto

In this popup, simply select the ‘Save and Exit’ option.
- Upon launching your game again, your save file will be intact and updated as usual.

Understanding What Causes Game Crashes in The Sims 4

If you find that The Sims 4 consistently crashes or freezes, and you use mods in your gameplay, it’s crucial to check their installation and ensure they are current. For modders, the frequent updates required after game patches can lead to incompatibilities, which may be the source of your gameplay issues.

For those who haven’t ventured into modding yet, you can still take steps to stabilize your game. A good starting point is to repair the game via the EA App.

Steps to Repair Your Game

Open your EA App and click on ‘The Sims 4′ within the ‘Installed Games’ section.
Select ‘Manage’, then click on ‘Repair’, as illustrated below:

Repairing app selection for The Sims 4 in EA App — EA / Dexerto

Follow the instructions provided on-screen, and your game will undergo repairs swiftly!
If you are using Steam, consider using the ‘Verify Integrity’ feature. Right-click the game title in your library, navigate to ‘Properties’, and select it under the ‘Installed Files’ tab.

To ensure your progress is secure, creating a backup of your save files is highly recommended. You can do this by copying the saves folder located within the Electronic Arts folder, typically found at ‘Documents\Electronic Arts\The Sims 4\saves, ’ and storing it in a secure location on your computer.

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