After revealing the upcoming Businesses and Hobbies expansion pack for The Sims 4, EA is posting new sneak peeks of the DLC – and one might just point toward the return of an NPC known well by longtime fans of The Sims series.
It's an exciting time to be a Simmer between EA's nostalgia-inducing re-releases of the first two Sims games, The Sims 3 recently receiving its first update from EA in 10 years, and The Sims 4 teasing its upcoming hobby-related expansion pack. The new DLC channels some of the series' most iconic moments with its Sims 2-esque Open for Business vibes, and it seems there might be more content reminiscent of past titles' own to come.
In a cryptic post online, EA writes "wait… what actually was that?" Alongside the text is a short clip of The Sims 4 showing a mysterious masked, tall figure dressed in a lengthy coat and hat. The strange "person" – if you can call them (it?) that – rummages through a garbage bin before quickly walking away. A bushy gray tail can be seen sticking out of the figure's coat, implying that this is, in fact, not a person at all.
wait ... what actually was that? 😳 pic.twitter.com/8frNOQA4HYFebruary 12, 2025
As fans speculate in the comments under EA's post, the figure appears to be a few raccoons standing upright on top of one another inside of a trench coat. While that's a cute thought on its own, it's the deeper implication that has the community excited – raccoons are associated with theft in pop culture, those shown in the clip seem to be stealing from Sims' trash, and there's a new burglar-aligned aspiration coming to The Sims 4.
Burglars! Did you notice this? from r/Sims4
With all of the "raccoon things," as players describe, highlighted in Businesses and Hobbies teasers coupled with the aspiration, Simmers are theorizing that "burglars are coming back" and loving "The Sims 2 vibes." At the least, fans certainly hope it's the case, with one simply writing "pls bring burglars back" and another admitting EA "not bringing burglars back would straight up be incredibly sad" – a sentiment I agree with as a Sims stan myself.
I don’t think we’re getting burglars in the new expac, maybe scam artists instead? from r/Sims4
Elsewhere, players wonder whether the trench coat "Sims" are actually scam artists rather than the series' more traditional burglars. A recent Reddit thread sees fans discussing the possibility of con men, explaining that it could all be" related to the 'Schemer' business alignment" dropping with Businesses and Hobbies. Only time will tell for sure what EA is cooking up with its raccoons or trench coat burglars, though – and I can't wait.
Need something to play while you wait? Here are 10 games like The Sims 4 to check out now.
