The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection free on Origin for July

I hid Battlefield 4 because I’m ashamed of it.

EA is giving away copies of The Sims 2 Ultimate Collection on Origin until 31 July, if you fancy that game in your collection. Originally, this was a promotional offer only for those who previously owned The Sims 2 (support for that particular version was ending, so EA in an uncharacteristically charitable gesture just gave everybody Ultimate Collection copies.)

Now, EA just wants everybody to have The Sims 2. Apparently, the Ultimate Collection is a bundle of all the Sims 2 expansion packs so you should have everything ever released for that version of the game.

To redeem your freebie copy, you’ll need an Origin account and the ability to type.

– Start by downloading and installing Origin. If you already have Origin you can skip to step 3.
– Not an Origin member? Create a free Origin Account to get in the game.
– Launch Origin and log into your Origin Account.
– From the ‘Games’ tab in the Origin menu, select ‘Redeem Product Code’ and enter the code I-LOVE-THE-SIMS

If you’re already an Origin member, you can also redeem your code online. Just visit the Origin code redemption page and log in to your Origin Account. Then enter I-LOVE-THE-SIMS in the ‘Product Code’ field.

If Origin or the code redemption page are getting hammered right now, you might have to try again in a bit. It worked for me though, I’ve now got a copy of The Sims 2 sat next to FIFA 14. The offer runs until 31 July at 10am Pacific, so there’s no major rush.