That captivating premise has long drawn in superfans like Kayla Sims, a 21-year-old who makes a living streaming her gameplay on Twitch and producing YouTube videos under the handle “lilsimsie.” The Sims, she says, “is much more than just a game to me.” (And yes, that’s her given name.) The Sims is an interactive dollhouse where the player has control over the environment, but the dolls have just enough autonomy to surprise players. They fall in and out of love, they catch their house on fire when they’re cooking, and they spend too much time watching TV. They need to eat, they need to use the bathroom, they age and die. Sims are just like us: they have hopes, dreams, jobs, and quirks. Players control the lives of little humans called, appropriately enough, Sims. Wright wanted a form of SimCity but zoomed in at the level of domestic life, rather than SimCity’s top-down view of urban life. The Sims was conceived of by game designer Will Wright, whose studio, Maxis, was a pioneer of simulators like SimCity.

“For a lot of people, this is a game they quietly play by themselves and pour themselves into on a weekend to destress and have a bit of fun on their terms,” he says.

They are the storytellers there.” Grant Rodiek, also a senior producer, adds that The Sims offers a kind of relaxing escapism that makes it appealing even to those who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves gamers. “They are what makes The Sims this magical place. “The biggest piece of our legacy is our players,” says Mike Duke, senior producer of The Sims 4, the most recent incarnation. Key to The Sims’ success, say the creative minds behind the series, are the millions of players who love the games, and their connection to the games’ creators. That kind of staying power is rare in an industry that prizes novelty over stability, always chasing the newest trend. Over the course of those 20 years, four mainline games, and dozens of spinoffs, The Sims has charmed millions of fans, made more than $5 billion, and even changed lives.

For two decades this year, fans of The Sims have been designing houses, raising families, and living entire lives within the confines of the irresistibly charming virtual world.

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