The Sims 4 escapes to the country with Cottage Living next month

It's time for your Sims to pop on their wellies and pack their coats. The next expansion for The Sims 4 is taking the life sim out to the pastoral sights of rural England for a spot of Cottage Living.

Announced earlier today, Cottage Living introduces us to the achingly twee village of Henford-on-Bagley, a name so English it feels like St George just slapped us across the face with a pork pie. It's the kind of place where rabbits wear waistcoats and chickens don bonnets—though trying to sing to 'em like a Disney princess won't always go down too well.

Cottage Living will, of course, let you set up a cosy cottage as your new home, complete with adjoining farm. The expansion challenges you to live off the land, growing your own produce and selling the excess in town. Your sims can raise cows, sheep, chickens and alpacas, though you'll need to keep an eye out for wily foxes.

On the other hand, you can try to grow giant veggies and enter the cut-throat world of the Finchwick Fair. At the end of the day, your sims can head on down the pub for a chat with the local punters, or else wander into the woods to befriend wild creatures. Standard village life, really.

Cottage Living arrives on Origin and Steam on July 22nd. Buying the expansion before September 2nd will also net you a charming bike, a tree strung with fairy lights, and a statue of a gnome riding a chicken.

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20 years ago, Nat played Jet Set Radio Future for the first time, and she's not stopped thinking about games since. Joining PC Gamer in 2020, she comes from three years of freelance reporting at Rock Paper Shotgun, Waypoint, VG247 and more. Embedded in the European indie scene and a part-time game developer herself, Nat is always looking for a new curiosity to scream about—whether it's the next best indie darling, or simply someone modding a Scotmid into Black Mesa. She also unofficially appears in Apex Legends under the pseudonym Horizon.