Most The Sims 4 players get excited when new content is announced, as it means new things to work with when creating builds or new Sims. This time around, however, many more are on the disappointed side with the "It's Lights Out" announcement. This is because of how little content the reveal trailer showed and the fact that players will be getting yet more Game Packs and Kits instead of a new expansion. This is all the more proof that The Sims 4's DLC tiers have gotten out of hand. While there are more options for spending, it ultimately means that players will be spending more for less content.

The Sims franchise has always been known releasing numerous expansions, even before the practice of DLC was widely used. While some have called them a cash grab, others were satisfied with the content they got for their money. Stuff Packs and other purchasable items were introduced later but nothing that added gameplay, making them all highly optional. However, The Sims 4 completely changed everything with its overhaul of the DLC structure.

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Journey to Batuu's limited gameplay

Initially, The Sims 4 had the same type of DLC (Expansions and Stuff Packs) as previous games, but in 2015 the first Game Pack was added, Outdoor Retreat. Containing a smaller amount of gameplay content and fewer items for a lower cost, Game Packs were introduced as a cheaper alternative to expansions. While it sounds like a nice idea, the cost isn't really a huge difference, and the gameplay is hit or miss. The content included in Game Packs is generally self-contained and, in some cases, hardly adds anything. For example, Spa Day adds exactly that, spas, which are community lots where most of the new gameplay is contained. Others though, such as Parenthood or Vampires, add plenty for players to do in regular gameplay.

Things soon became confusing, however, when some Stuff Packs also began adding gameplay. It started off as minor additions like making ice cream but soon began to include things like the Knitting skill and the ability to make Knitted items. Stuff Packs were no longer just for stuff. In some cases, Stuff Packs contained content normally found in expansions. The first case of this was the Spooky Stuff Pack, which included pumpkin carving, gameplay previously part of the Seasons expansion. Bowling also became its own Stuff Pack instead of being part of Get Together or another expansion like in previous entries. Things have only gotten worse from there.

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The entirety of one Sims 4 Kit

Kits have become the next step in the divvying up of Sims 4 content. They have become the new Stuff Packs but add far less at a much-reduced price. They were initially planned to include some minor gameplay content, but this seems to have been abandoned after Bust the Dust encountered problems. This tier has only been out for a year, yet there are already 13 Kits. Meanwhile, the number of releases for other tiers has reduced -- one each per year down from two or three. This is likely because it's much easier to pump out Kits at a lesser cost than to create a large amount of content for things like expansions. It's also why Sims 4 players are up in arms again.

Spreading out content means players get less while having to spend more. For example, content that was included in The Sims 3's family expansion, Generations, is instead divided into various packs in The Sims 4. To get a similar amount of content, players will need to purchase the Parenthood Game Pack, Toddlers Stuff Pack, My Wedding Stories Game Pack and the Kids Room Stuff Pack -- which amounts to more than the cost of one expansion. The latest update from EA shows it has no intention of slowing down on cutting up content, and Sims 4 players are getting tired of it.