The Sims 4 High School Years

The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack

The Sims 4: High School Years is the twelfth expansion pack released for The Sims 4, developed by Maxis and The Sims Studio and published by Electronic Arts. It launched on all platforms — PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Xbox — on July 28, 2022, following its official reveal on June 30, 2022. Arriving as part of that summer’s “Rise & Shine” content roadmap, High School Years was the first expansion in the franchise’s history to let players follow their teen Sims into an active, controllable high school, rather than watching them vanish into an off-screen “rabbit hole” for the day. It draws heavily on nostalgia for earlier entries in the series, reviving features like prom and pranks from The Sims 3: Generations and echoing the teen-focused fashion of The Sims 2: Teen Style Stuff.

The Sims 4 High School Years at a Glance

• New World: Copperdale
• New System: Active high school
• New Skill: Entrepreneurship
• New Traits: Ambitious, Life of the Party, Socially Awkward
• New Aspirations: Drama Llama, Goal Oriented, Live Fast, Admired Icon
• New Apps: Social Bunny (social media) and Trendi (fashion resale)
• New Careers: Simfluencer and video game streamer side hustles
• New Events: Prom, graduation, career day, fire drills

New Features in The Sims 4 High School Years Expansion Pack

High School Years is built around a single central idea: giving the long-overlooked teen life stage a purpose-built world and a genuinely playable daily routine. Instead of adding a broad, unrelated grab-bag of systems, the pack layers school life, teen fashion, and social-media drama on top of one another to create a cohesive coming-of-age experience.

Copperdale: A New Teen-Focused World

Copperdale is a former mining town built around Lake LaSuli, split into three distinct neighborhoods: Rockridge Heights, home to Copperdale High School, its auditorium, and the sports field; Prescott Square, a historic town center with shops, a library, and a park; and Plumbite Cove, a lakeside district anchored by the Plumbite Pier amusement park, complete with rides, a photo booth, and a spot that often doubles as the prom afterparty location. In total, the world spans 12 lots, several of which — including entries from community creators like MsGryphi, xfreezerbunnyx, and JOL1990 — were built in collaboration with Sims content creators ahead of launch. Copperdale is also the only world in The Sims 4 where an active high school lot can be placed, making it essential for anyone who wants to use the pack’s headline feature.

Copperdale Lots Details

How Active High School Works

For the first time in the series, teen Sims can be followed and directly controlled inside the school building rather than disappearing into a loading screen. At Copperdale High, players guide their teens through classes, socialize with classmates and teachers in the cafeteria, and personalize a locker with customizable doors. Sims are expected to arrive to class on time and study for weekly exams, and the school day occasionally throws in random events such as fire drills or career day. Misbehaving or skipping class can lead to detention, and a three-strikes system can eventually get a teen expelled. On the flip side, strong academic performance can let a Sim graduate early — though early graduates skip the formal ceremony and, if Discover University is installed, can go straight on to enroll in college.

Prom, Graduation & Other Iconic Teen Moments

High School Years brings back two milestone events fans of The Sims 3: Generations will recognize: prom and graduation, both of which take place in the school auditorium. Teens can ask out a crush for a promposal, pick out formalwear, and dance the night away, while strong students get to walk at a formal graduation ceremony. The pack also reintroduces pranks, letting mischievous Sims stash a stink capsule in a locker, doodle on the whiteboard, hack the PA speaker, spread an urban myth, or even steal the principal’s password — all of which carry a real risk of getting caught.

Self-Discovery: Traits, Aspirations & Identity

Alongside the school gameplay, High School Years leans into teenage identity and self-discovery. New teen-specific aspirations — Drama Llama, Goal Oriented, Live Fast, and Admired Icon — each unlock a matching adult aspiration and reward trait, letting a Sim’s teenage personality carry consequences into adulthood. New traits like Ambitious, Life of the Party, and Socially Awkward add more nuance to how Sims build relationships, while puberty was introduced as a base-game update alongside the pack, giving teens body hair and new options for personal grooming.

Social Bunny, Trendi & Entrepreneurship

Two new phone apps round out the pack’s take on modern teen life. Social Bunny is a Twitter-style social media app where Sims can post, gossip, and build a following, while Trendi is a fashion resale app tied to the new Entrepreneurship skill — Sims can list self-designed outfits for sale and become a “Simfluencer,” earning Simoleons from their bedroom. A second new side hustle, video game streaming, gives tech-minded teens another way to build a following and make money without leaving their room. Several of the outfits available for sale and in Create-a-Sim were designed in collaboration with real-life sellers from the fashion marketplace app Depop.

Build Mode and Other Additions

Beyond the headline systems, High School Years adds a large wave of teen bedroom furniture and clutter, thrift-store fashion, and Create-a-Sim items spanning aesthetics from vaporwave and kawaii to preppy and cottagecore. New woohoo-friendly hangout spots — the Silver Spinner, the Grave Mine, the Cuddle Carts, and the photo booth — bring a bit of extra flavor to the world’s amusement park. The pack also adds a stationary school bus decoration parked outside Copperdale High, cheerleading, pillow fights, gift-giving, and new death types tied to stink capsules and urban myths for players who like their family sagas with a dark comedic edge.

The Sims 4 High School Years – All New Build Mode Items

High School Years’ build and buy catalog captures the vibrant atmosphere of Copperdale’s teenage life. You’ll find lockers for school hallways, classroom décor, sports field equipment, cafeteria furniture, and festival stalls for social hangouts. Bedrooms get a youthful makeover with posters, neon lights, trendy seating, and decorative clutter that reflect modern teen style.

The Sims 4 High School Years – All New CAS Items

Create-a-Sim additions focus on the diverse looks of high school life. Everyday school outfits, team uniforms, prom dresses, and sharp suits set the stage for milestone events. Streetwear-inspired casuals, cozy hoodies, and expressive accessories give Sims a chance to showcase their individuality. Hairstyles range from sleek braids to bold punk cuts, while jewelry and festival-inspired extras help Sims stand out in Copperdale’s social scene.

The Sims 4 High School Years Reviews & Player Feedback

On Metacritic, The Sims 4: High School Years landed a score of 74/100, placing it toward the upper-middle of the expansion pack lineup. Critics were largely positive about how thoroughly the pack develops teen Sims as a life stage, praising the depth of the new traits, aspirations, and Create-a-Sim fashion, along with how well it captures specific teen moments like a promposal or an online rumor spiraling out of control. At the same time, many reviews flagged technical issues around release, particularly with prom sometimes failing to trigger correctly and the school routine occasionally breaking down and requiring a save reload. Reviewers also noted that some new features, such as the simfluencer and streamer side hustles, felt somewhat underdeveloped compared to the strength of the core school and social systems.

Is The Sims 4 High School Years Worth Buying?

For players who’ve felt that teen Sims get short-changed compared to adults, toddlers, or even pets, High School Years is one of the more meaningful expansions in the catalog — its active school system, combined with prom, graduation, and a wardrobe full of genuinely teen-coded fashion, gives the life stage a sense of purpose it never really had before. It’s not a flawless pack, and the technical hiccups some players experience around prom and the school routine are worth knowing about going in, but for anyone building teen-centric stories, running a high-school legacy, or just wanting Copperdale’s world and clothing options, High School Years remains a strong pick in The Sims 4 lineup.