Sims 4 Rebirth is the Life & Death feature that lets your Sim start a new life after completing the Dreams Fulfilled tier of Soul’s Journey. You can choose it when a living Sim dies, or play on as a Ghost and use the Baleful Bog in Ravenwood. The Ghost route gives you a chance to unlock Burning Soul and take more benefits into your next life.
If you’re continuing a legacy family, you can choose where your Sim is reborn, change their appearance in Create a Sim and, with Burning Soul, regain parts of their old personality. Here’s how to reach Rebirth, where to find the Bog and what the new life actually remembers.
How to unlock Sims 4 Rebirth
In Live Mode, open your Sim’s Aspirations Panel and look for Soul’s Journey. Young Adult and older Sims can work on a Bucket List, using a computer or journal to add goals. Completing Wants and Aspiration tiers can advance the bar too. You need the Dreams Fulfilled tier for basic Sims 4 Rebirth; you don’t need every Ghost-only tier just to start again.
For the most Sims 4 Rebirth bonuses, continue as a Ghost until you reach The Big Picture. That final tier awards Burning Soul, which carries into the next life and unlocks previous-life bonuses. If you choose to be reborn as soon as Dreams Fulfilled is reached, you can still begin again, but won’t have those inherited memories without Burning Soul.
All Soul’s Journey tiers and Sims 4 Rebirth benefits
| Tier | Reward |
|---|---|
| The Road Ahead | Bonus Satisfaction Points |
| Making Headway | Bonus Skill gains |
| Finding Purpose | Career gains, purchase discounts, Share Soul’s Journey |
| No Regrets | Longer life and later Move On interaction |
| Quite a Journey | Pass Down social and extra Heirloom objects |
| Dreams Fulfilled | Rebirth unlocked |
| Newfound Purpose (Ghost) | Extra Ghost Mastery XP |
| The Big Picture (Ghost) | Burning Soul Trait |
The first six tiers are available during life; Newfound Purpose and The Big Picture unlock after death. For Sims 4 Rebirth, reaching Dreams Fulfilled is the required unlock; getting Burning Soul is the optional extra that makes the next life more than an entirely fresh character.
How to start Sims 4 Rebirth at death or Baleful Bog
A living Young Adult, Adult or Elder who has completed Dreams Fulfilled can choose Rebirth when they die. If you decide to continue as a Ghost instead, travel to Mourningvale in Ravenwood and swim in the purple-glowing Baleful Bog. Choose the Rebirth interaction when your Ghost is eligible.
Can’t find the lake? At Mourningvale City Hall, near the Bell Tower, choose Focus Camera On and select The Baleful Bog. The camera will take you to the lake. The Sims 4 Rebirth Bog route works for eligible Ghost Sims, including those who didn’t complete every Bucket List goal before death.
How to choose a household for Sims 4 Rebirth
- Unlock Dreams Fulfilled and choose Rebirth at death or through Baleful Bog as a Ghost.
- Wait for the game to open Manage Worlds.
- Choose an empty lot for a fresh household, or an occupied lot to join an existing family.
- In Create a Sim, customise the new Sim. The reborn character starts as an Infant.
- Adjust the name, age, appearance, traits and relationships, then finish character creation.
- Check the selected household to confirm the reborn Sim is there.
You can change age and genetics in CAS, including giving the child a resemblance to their new family. There is also a Reset Sim to Resemble Past Life option. The Rebirth Counter records how many lives your Sim has experienced and appears in Soul’s Journey once they reach Young Adult again.
What does Burning Soul keep after Sims 4 Rebirth?
Burning Soul allows a Teen or older reborn Sim to use Recall Past Life to retrieve one Personality Trait. Use Peer Into Soul on a mirror to regain Reward Traits; that interaction can be used more than once. Younger Sims can get developmental and childhood skill benefits too. Burning Soul also allows Transcendent WooHoo between a living reborn Sim and a Ghost.
Without Burning Soul, Sims 4 Rebirth still gives you a new life, but not the special trait-recovery interactions. Rebirth also isn’t a direct transfer of your old household’s funds; you choose a new or existing home in Manage Worlds. Some connections with people from the old life can still be recognised, as explained below.
Does Sims 4 Rebirth remember family and relationships?
Yes, there are connections to the previous life even though the Sim starts a new household. EA says old family members receive an Odd Familiarity relationship, which unlocks a conversation about that feeling. Sims with whom your character had a strong friendship can receive a Strange Connection. Meeting a previous-life Soulmate can trigger Reunited Soulmates and the option to re-encounter that person.
These ties are not the same as keeping every old relationship meter at its former value. EA also says that Sims sharing Odd Familiarity cannot start a romantic relationship with one another. Burning Soul adds separate trait-recovery options, so don’t confuse past-life relationship recognition with the special rewards from Sims 4 Rebirth progression.
Why is the Sims 4 Rebirth option missing?
Check that Life & Death is installed and that Soul’s Journey shows Dreams Fulfilled. A living Sim gets the choice at death, while a Ghost uses the Bog. A younger living Sim who hasn’t reached the necessary stage or an uncompleted Soul’s Journey won’t have a normal Rebirth menu option available anywhere.
The October 27, 2026 patch fixes a separate Sims 4 Rebirth problem: Reborn Infants sometimes didn’t join the selected household or appear in Create a Sim. If you’ve experienced that, update first, back up the save and consult our missing Reborn Sim guide. EA hasn’t guaranteed that a save already damaged by the old bug repairs itself automatically.
Before choosing Sims 4 Rebirth, decide whether you’re ready for a fresh start or want to complete the Ghost tiers for Burning Soul first. For a new start, Dreams Fulfilled is enough. For an ongoing family story with previous-life traits, complete the Ghost progression all the way to The Big Picture.
Related Guides
Official source: EA Help: Soul’s Journey and Rebirth.
