Have you ever wondered why transferring your old save files to The Sims: Legacy Collection doesn't work?

You may be used to how older versions of The Sims had its save files located right in the game's directory (install location) where Sims and Lots are stored in each neighborhood whose folders are called "UserData".


For some reason, the Legacy Collection version of the game moved the save files to a different location even though there are still "UserData" folders inside the game's directory. These folders are actually unused by this version of the game and deleting them won't affect the game at all.

The real location for where the game stores the save files are now located in:
C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Electronic Arts\The Sims 25

(%USERPROFILE% would be your PC's account name.)

As of Patch #3 (13th February 2025), the game now checks for imports in the same "UserData" folder as the save files described above. The information below is now outdated.

I've included this little section because apparently, the game still checks for the "Import" folder inside the game directory's "UserData" folder even though the save location has been moved.

If you're trying to import Families/Lots to a Neighborhood, you still have to place their files in:
"C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\The Sims Legacy Collection\UserData\Import"
-or-
"SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\The Sims Legacy Collection\UserData\Import"
(SteamLibrary would be your additional storage of Steam games if installed in other disk drives.)

If you instead place the files in the same location as the actual save files:
"C:\Users\%USERPROFILE%\Saved Games\Electronic Arts\The Sims 25\UserData\Import"
The game won't recognise them because it doesn't check that folder for imports.