The Sims 2 is a 2004 social simulation video game developed by Maxis and published by Electronic Arts. It is the second major title in The Sims series, and is the sequel to The Sims. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on September 14, 2004, and a port for MacOS by Aspyr was released on June 17, 2005. Eight expansion packs and nine "stuff packs" were subsequently released between 2005 and 2008. In addition, versions of The Sims 2 were released on various video game consoles, including the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo DS, and GameCube, and mobile platforms, including the Nokia Ovi Store. The three handheld versions of the game are completely different among themselves, unlike the home console versions of the game, which are virtually identical to each other. All three handheld versions take on more of a linear storyline. A sequel, The Sims 3, was released in June 2009.

Maxis is an American video game developer and a division of Electronic Arts (EA). The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun, and acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. Maxis is best known for its simulation games, including The Sims, Spore and SimCity.