In The Sims 4, the game automatically cleans up Sims and households you’re not actively playing. This process, called culling, keeps your save file from getting too big, which helps the game run smoother and load faster.
So, what’s a culled Sim? It’s an unplayed Sim that the game automatically removes from your save file. They basically just vanish from the world.
If your active household has a relationship with a Sim who’s about to be culled, you’ll get a quick notification letting you know they’re “moving off the grid.” If there’s no relationship, though, the Sim disappears quietly without any notice.
The game keeps track of how many Sims exist in your worlds. The culling threshold determines when unplayed Sims start getting removed. The current limit is 800 Sims.
How Culling Works in The Sims 4
In The Sims 4, culling happens automatically once the Sim population hits around 800 Sims, which is the current culling limit. Ghosts don’t count toward this number, unless you invite them into your household.
Culling only affects unplayed Sims from other households. Sims in your active household are completely safe.
If there’s a Sim you don’t want the game to cull, the easiest way to protect them is to move them into your active household and then move their household to My Households. Simply click on the Heart icon to move a household to My Households.
That way, the game treats them as “played” and won’t delete them.
Even after a Sim is culled, they’ll still appear in your family tree for a while. The catch is that there’s very little information about them. Some faces might even disappear, leaving only a name or blank spot where they used to be.
Culled Sims will eventually vanish from the family tree. When this happens, even ghosts get erased, and the game acts like they were never part of the family.
That is why older ancestors slowly disappear from family tree portraits. Instead of their faces, you are left with a blank grey silhouette that shows there is no Sim stored there anymore.
Manage Your Sim Count
You can control how many Sims exist in your world by setting a Sim count limit. Go to Game Options → Gameplay and set the Sim Count to 50, 100, or 200 Sims.
Using a high Sim Count setting lets you move as many Sims as you like into My Households, but it can sometimes hurt game stability. If your system struggles, it’s better to stick with a lower cap.
Even with the Unlimited Sim Count setting, that doesn’t guarantee all of your Sims are completely safe from culling. Sims in other households can still be removed once the game hits its culling limit.
Culling and Ghosts
Ghosts normally don’t count toward the total Sim population. The only time they do is if you invite them into your household.
When a Sim dies, they’re moved to a hidden household. The game will automatically cull their ghost after 90 days.
If you visit the gravestone, there’s an option called Strengthen the Connection to the Physical World. Using it will let the ghost stick around for another 90 days.
If you want the ghost gone for good, you can choose Release Spirit to the Netherworld, and the game will permanently remove them.
How to Stop Culling in The Sims 4
If you want to completely stop culling in The Sims 4, mods are the way to go. The MC Command Center Population module or Neia’s No Culling mod can prevent the game from automatically deleting unplayed Sims.
Another option is to manually delete townies you don’t care about, which keeps your important Sims safer from being culled.
Certain relationships and tags can protect Sims from being culled.
For both played and unplayed Sims, family roles like Parent, Son, Daughter, Brother, Sister, Grandchild, Grandparent, Stepsibling, Cousin, Aunt, Uncle, Niece, Nephew, and marital statuses like Engaged, Married, Husband, or Wife will keep them safe.
For played Sims only, a wide range of social connections can protect them, including First Kiss, BFF, Good Friends (even Evil ones), Significant Other, Lovebirds, Soulmates, Enemies with Benefits, Lovers, Total Opposites, and even more specific tags like Got Cold Feet, Left at the Altar, and Cheated With.
These tags act like shields, meaning Sims with these relationships are less likely to be culled.
You can lower your in-game Sim count to stop the game from generating lots of random townies. This setting is in Gameplay Options. The higher the Sim count, the more random Sims will appear.
The more townies, the higher the chance that the game might cull your custom Sims to make room for them.
I hope this guide helped clarify how the culling system works.
Happy Simming!