Sims 4 update introduces character Wants and it turns out they really want incest

Two sims make out in The Sims 4
(Image credit: EA Maxis)

The Sims 4 is currently the wild west of romance: an update has had the unintended consequence of revealing that sims have secretly wanted to bump uglies with family members all along.

You no longer need to rely on The Sims 4 cheats to create weird and entirely inappropriate pairings. This week's High School Never Ends update has done all the hard work for you. Wants & Fears has rolled out in the game, replacing the previous whims system. And the Sims really want to go full Targaryen. Maybe they're just super hyped for House of the Dragon

A bug in the patch has resulted in sims trying to WooHoo their own family members. They're also aging incredibly quickly, which could be the source of their desperate attempt to get it on with literally anyone before they die of old age. Posts on Reddit (spotted by PC Gamer) illustrate just how icky the bug is making things. Twitter users are also sharing their run-ins with the bug, like the one below.

Incest is on the way out-cest

Thankfully, the devs are already on the case. Sims 4 quality designer, @SimGuruNick on Twitter, says "I just wanted to acknowledge that the Want to date a family member is something we know about."

They add that they've reproduced it themselves and are working on a fix. So keep your sims away from any family members that are too sexy for their own damn good for now. You can also use The Sims 4 cheats to mess with relationships, if that's your thing.

The aging bug is also on the devs' radar, with the official The Sims account offering a workaround in a tweet. Apparently, the bug is prevalent in saves using short and long lifespans. So for now, the advice is to temporarily play in or create a new save with the default 'normal' lifespan. At least until they get it figured out.

Bugs resulting in incestuous sims aren't new by the looks of things. From as recently as four months ago to as far back as three years, it's popped up every now and then. But this is much more widespread. 

At least you won't have to feel horribly uncomfortable watching your sims making eyes at their relatives for long. Although shout out to this person from Reddit who can finally live the sim-cest dream without having to employ mods. I hope that, wherever you are, you've stumbled into this bug and are living your best sims life.      

Shabana Arif
News Editor, TechRadar Gaming

Shabana has been writing about games for almost a decade now, as well as covering tech, politics, food, and other random tidbits at Gizmodo UK. She's stepped outside of news every now and then to write game guides, and always appreciates a DM if she's helped get you out of a pickle. During her time freelancing, you may have spotted her words at VG24/7, GamesRadar, and IGN. She's also held the position of news editor at Gizmodo UK, T3, and The Sun Online. 

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