A surprise new update has just dramatically updated how Neighborhood Stories work in The Sims 4, as picked up by Eurogamer. The feature, which has appeared in previous Sims games, allows Sims in non-active households to go about their lives autonomously and make major changes, including having or adopting children, changing careers, moving house, and even dying in an accident.

　　The feature was soft-launched last November, with an early version of Neighborhood Stories having neighboring Sims able to make changes in their lives, but only if the player okayed it first or initiated the change. The new update gives non-active households full autonomy, though it can be customized for players who like to have more control over their communities.

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　　The new feature is heavily customisable, meaning you can still allow neighbor Sims to make some changes in their lives, but can turn off Neighborhood Stories options like accidental death or moving out that may change the neighborhood too drastically. Players even have the option to configure these settings household-by-household if they want to micromanage their neighbors' lives. Players who liked the game as it was can also turn the new feature off altogether, and continue playing as usual.

　　Even if players don't interact with their neighbors enough to see the results of their newly-given freedom, players will now be able to check Neighborhood Stories updates from any mailbox. The blog post detailing these changes encourages players to check these updates, and use the information contained in them to visit neighbors and check in on all the changes that are happening.