The Sims 4 October 27 update: saves, mods and pack checks

The Sims 4 has a food-and-dining update scheduled for October 27, 2026. Before returning to a long-running household, protect your saves and check which packs and mods are active.

What EA has announced

EA’s October 20 preview promises over 150 fixes, separate weight and muscle controls, and better leftovers behaviour. Dine Out gets restaurant fixes. Businesses & Hobbies gains over 375 existing dishes for Family Recipes—not newly created recipes.

Treat a patch announcement as a list of things to check, not a reason to overwrite your only working household. Choose one familiar meal or restaurant visit for your first session. A small, repeatable test is more useful than changing your kitchen, installed content and household settings all at once.

Back up before you experiment

Close the game first so your backup is not copied while a save is being written. Then follow the instructions for your computer.

Stop after making the backup: do not delete the live folder, empty the recycle bin or replace files as routine update preparation. Check the copied folder exists before loading your household. Keep this pre-test copy separate from later backups, so you can distinguish the state you meant to preserve.

Check Autosave before a mod test

EA’s help says Autosave can trigger when exiting. On PC and Mac, open Game Options, then Save Settings. Before a mod-disabled test, disable every trigger: loading screens, exiting Build Mode, real-time and in-game-time options. Apply Changes before loading. This precaution combines two separate EA guides; it is our suggested workflow, not the publisher’s verbatim checklist.

Console players cannot disable loading-screen Autosave. The desktop mod-testing steps below are therefore not console instructions. Keep manual saves as well as the rolling Autosave, and do not turn off your device while saving is in progress.

Return mods in a controlled order

For another recent patch with mod considerations, see the Cyberpunk 2077 update 2.5 checklist.

Check packs before buying anything

Missing content does not automatically mean you need another purchase. In the in-game Marketplace, open My Collection: Manage Storage checks installation, while Pack Selection checks which packs are active. An installed pack and an active pack are different states. On a save tile, the Required Packs area shows which packs the household uses; hover over its icons to spot deactivated content.

Reactivate the required pack before continuing an established save. EA warns that deactivating packs removes access to their hair, clothing, traits and objects, and recommends using Pack Selection only when creating a new save to avoid losing existing content or progress. Do not strip out a household’s packs simply to make an update test quicker.

Dine Out remains an add-on requiring the base game. Its restaurant ownership, staffing and menu features are reasons to consider that pack, not benefits automatically granted by a general patch. If restaurants are the reason you would buy it, wait for evidence about the updated experience rather than treating a fix count as a recommendation. The hero image is existing Dine Out promotional artwork, not a hands-on capture of this update.

A missing recipe needs its own check

EA’s Cooking skill guide distinguishes skill unlocks from pack-specific equipment and recipes. Check the Sim’s Cooking level, the relevant pack and the appliance before assuming a missing dish means the update failed. In Live Mode, open the Sim Panel and its Skills tab to inspect progress. The guide’s ordinary cooking list is not a complete list of Family Recipe eligibility. Keep those two questions separate when checking what your household can actually make.

Recover a manual save if needed

EA’s recovery guide covers PC, Mac and console. On PC or Mac, choose Load Game from the Main Menu, select a manual save slot, then Recover Save—the floppy-disk icon. Pick an earlier save point and select Play. On console, choose Load Game, then Recover Game, and pick the version you want. This offers an earlier household state; it is not a way to uninstall the patch. Consider what progress you would give up before selecting a point.

The Autosave slot is different: each new Autosave replaces the previous one, and older Autosaves cannot be recovered. A successful load from that slot is not proof that a pre-update version still exists. Preserve manual saves and the separate desktop backup rather than relying on one continuously overwritten slot.

What remains unverified

At the October 27 morning research check, an exact deployment time and completed rollout were not verified. Players in Europe, the Americas and Asia should not infer a local midnight launch. This is an official-information preparation guide, not hands-on testing or confirmation of performance in your household.