Maxis Says It’s Looking Into Sims 4 Simulation Lag and Cancelled Actions

Sims 4 simulation lag remains on Maxis’ radar.

During an official Sims QA/QV developer Q&A on September 1, the team addressed a long-running complaint from players.

Simmers asked about simulation lag and Sims repeatedly cancelling actions from their queues.

The response was simple: the team is looking into it.

That may sound small, but both problems have frustrated players for months.

What Is Sims 4 Simulation Lag?

Simulation lag is different from a low frame rate.

The game itself may look smooth, but Sims take too long to react.

Players report giving a Sim an instruction and then watching them stand still for several in-game minutes.

Menus can also become slower during longer sessions. Build/Buy may take several seconds to respond.

One major EA Forums report describes the game becoming increasingly sluggish after around 30 to 60 minutes of play.

Restarting The Sims 4 can temporarily solve the problem. However, players say the lag eventually returns.

EA currently lists that report as Under Investigation.

Read the Sims 4 simulation lag report on EA Forums

Sims Are Also Cancelling Their Own Actions

Players have reported another frustrating behaviour.

Sims can suddenly remove actions from their queue or abandon something the player explicitly told them to do.

Examples include stopping cooking, abandoning childcare or cancelling an action after the player switches to another household member.

The main EA Forums report has gathered hundreds of player votes.

EA also currently lists this issue as Under Investigation.

See the Sims cancelling actions bug report on EA Forums

The two problems may sometimes look similar.

A Sim standing around could suffer from simulation lag. Another Sim may have completely dropped the action from their queue.

EA has not confirmed that both issues share the same cause.

Maxis Addressed the Problems Again This Week

The latest acknowledgement came during the official QA/QV Dev Drop-In inside The Sims Discord on September 1.

These sessions give players a chance to ask members of the development and quality teams about active problems.

When a player asked whether simulation lag and Sims cancelling interactions remained a priority, QA Lau confirmed that the team is looking into the issue.

Join The Sims’ official Discord server

Maxis has not announced a specific fix yet.

However, the response confirms that these complaints have not dropped off the team’s radar.

EA Has Already Been Working on Performance

This also fits into Maxis’ wider Quality of Life work.

In July, EA said it had made “meaningful investments” in reducing simulation lag and improving stability.

The same update introduced Memory Boost across all platforms.

EA designed Memory Boost to improve memory management, responsiveness and performance during longer sessions.

Read EA’s July Quality of Life update

However, the active bug reports show that performance problems remain for some players.

Memory Boost has not solved every type of lag or autonomy issue.

September Could Be Important

The timing is also worth watching.

EA has already confirmed another major Quality of Life update for September 22.

The company previously said its September work would focus on general Sim autonomy.

Maxis wants Sims to behave more intelligently, consistently and responsively during normal gameplay.

That sounds closely related to some of the complaints players have raised.

However, EA has not confirmed that the September 22 update will fix simulation lag or the cancelled-action bug.

We should know more when the next Laundry List arrives on September 15.

For Now, Both Problems Remain Under Investigation

There is no reliable fix for everyone yet.

Players can sometimes improve Sims 4 simulation lag by restarting the game. However, that only provides temporary relief in many reports.

The cancelled-action issue can be even harder to avoid.

For now, both reports remain Under Investigation on EA Forums.

The good news is that Maxis has now addressed the complaints again directly.

With a major Quality of Life patch coming later this month, we may not have to wait long to find out whether a proper fix is finally on the way.