# The Sims

> EA reported 6.3 million shipments as The Sims became the best-selling PC game.

- Owner: Maxis (developer); Electronic Arts (publisher)
- Kind: Game
- Sector: Gaming
- Seed date: 2000-02-04
- Milestone date: 2002-03-21
- Date basis: Documented milestone; not a measured attention peak.
- Spread Score: 48 (Notable, provisional), v1.3
- Mechanics: Shareable output, Platform jump, Maker origin, Underdog

## Summary

The Sims launched in 2000. Players traded skins and furnishings on fan sites and published stories with its album tool. EA added expansion packs and paid advertising. Its reported shipments passed Myst’s record in 2002.

## Timeline

- 2000-01-20 — Will Wright (Open web) — Wright described free creation tools and fan-made skins in a CNN chat.
- 2000-02-01 — WIRED (Press) — WIRED previewed The Sims and described its support for downloadable objects.
- 2000-02-04 — Maxis / Electronic Arts (Retail) — Electronic Arts released The Sims for Windows in North America.

The full timeline, metrics and sources are on the case page, or via the Pro API (https://howitspread.com/developers).

Canonical URL: https://howitspread.com/cases/the-sims

Cite as: How It Spread (2026). “The Sims.” Case HIS-01468. Spread Score v1.3: 48/100. Updated 2026-10-23. https://howitspread.com/id/HIS-01468