'The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack' Has Tribute To Heavy Metal Knitting

Knitting and heavy metal aren’t exactly things that we associate with each other, yet they strangely do in the latest expansion pack for “The Sims 4.”

In “The Sims 4 Nifty Knitting Stuff Pack,” these two seemingly incongruous elements result in bonuses in the heavy metal station, but why? Knitting is usually seen as a quiet, solitary hobby. Metal is loud and brash with a lot of headbanging involved. Why then did developer Maxis bring them together?

Sims that listen to the metal radio station while knitting will get bonuses on the craft, according to Maxis. The addition of the metal station in the knitting Stuff Pack is actually a nod to Finland’s Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship, a wacky event that debuted last year, Polygon reports.

Both metal and knitting are huge in Finland. Twenty-six bands — with a knitting lead — applied for the championship. Twelve bands from eight countries made it to the finals, each of which starred a knitting lead who had to knit during the performance.

Unfortunately, the 2020 edition of the Heavy Metal Knitting World Championship originally scheduled for this month had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is thus fitting that, at the very least, a tribute event made its way to The Sims 4.

“We have been wanting to do this in The Sims 4 for a while and have been on the lookout for various opportunities to do so,” The Sims 4 sound designer Drew Boles said earlier this year on the game’s forum.

“At first glance, a pack centered on knitting may seem like an odd choice, but when we heard about the Heavy Metal Knitting Competition last year in Finland, we knew it was, in fact, a perfect fit,” Boles added.

Originally released in 2014 for Microsoft Windows, “The Sims 4” is a life simulation game developed by the Redwood Shores studio of Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. A Mac compatible version of the game was released in 2015.

Though Sims can play air guitar while listening to the metal radio station, they can’t actually knit while playing air guitar, like they really do in the Heavy Metal Knitting Competition. Although not much knitting changes visually when listening to the metal station, it is actually invigorating the projects of your Sim.