Order of The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 Expansion Packs

Install expansion packs in the order they were released to minimize problems

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Updated on March 3, 2020

The Sims is an extremely popular video game series with numerous expansion packs and "stuff" packs. These expansions provided extra features for the originally released versions of the game.

You should install expansion packs in order whenever possible. Each one builds on the previous pack and includes patches for previous expansions as well. Installing them in the order of release limits conflicts and possible errors. For example, a newer pack may contain updates to a previous expansion release, but if that release is not installed at the time, those updates won't be implemented. Subsequently, installing the older expansion then installs an out-of-date version of the feature or function that was updated in the later expansion.

With that in mind, here is the launch order for the expansions for The Sims 2 and The Sims 3.

The Sims 2 Expansion Packs

There are eight expansion packs for The Sims 2, and they were published in this order:

The Sims 2 University	March 2005
The Sims 2 Nightlife	September 2005
The Sims 2 Open for Business	March 2006
The Sims 2 Pets	October 2006
The Sims 2 Seasons	March 2007
The Sims 2 Bon Voyage	September 2007
The Sims 2 Free Time	February 2008
The Sims 2 Apartment Life	August 2008

The Sims 2 Stuff Packs

In addition, the following ten stuff packs were released:

The Sims 2 Holiday Party Pack	November 2005
The Sims 2 Family Fun Stuff	April 2006
The Sims 2 Glamour Life Stuff	August 2006
The Sims 2 Happy Holiday Stuff (a re-release of the Holiday Party Pack)	November 2006
The Sims 2 Celebration Stuff	April 2007
The Sims 2 H&M Fashion Stuff	June 2007
The Sims 2 Teen Style Stuff	November 2007
The Sims 2 Kitchen and Bath Interior Design Stuff	April 2008
The Sims 2 Ikea Home Stuff	June 2008
The Sims 2 Mansion and Garden Stuff	November 2008

The Sims 3 Expansion Packs

The Sims 3 has 11 expansion packs published in this order:

The Sims 3 World Adventures	November 2009
The Sims 3 Ambitions	June 2010
The Sims 3 Late Night	October 2010
The Sims 3 Generations	May/June 2011
The Sims 3 Pets	October 2011
The Sims 3 Showtime	March 2012
The Sims 3 Supernatural	September 2012
The Sims 3 Seasons	November 2012
The Sims 3 University Life	March 2013
The Sims 3 Island Paradise	June 2013
The Sims 3 Into the Future	October 2013

The Sims 3 Stuff Packs

The Sims 3 also has nine stuff packs. They are, in order of release:

The Sims 3 High-End Loft Stuff	February 2010
The Sims 3 Fast Lane Stuff	September 2010
The Sims 3 Outdoor Living Stuff	February 2011
The Sims 3 Town Life Stuff	July 2011
The Sims 3 Master Suite Stuff	January 2012
The Sims 3 Katy Perry's Sweet Treats	June 2012
The Sims 3 Diesel Stuff	July 2012
The Sims 3 '70s, '80s, & '90s Stuff	January 2013
The Sims 3 Movie Stuff	September 2013