Electronic Arts has announced a rough release date for The Sims 4 and it's not until autumn 2014, not March 2014 as previously announced.

Those who pre-order though will be treated to a bonus. Order the game through thesims.com and you will be upgraded to the Limited Edition version of the game. It might not arrive for a while, but at least you'll know you'll get some extra goodies when it does. All pre-orders will get the Life of the Party Digital Content as well as the game itself.

Read: The Sims 4 preview: Hands-on with character creation, eyes-on with build features and gameplay

"The Sims franchise has the best fans in the world and their passion and enthusiasm is at an all-time high," said Rachel Franklin, VP and general manager of The Sims Studio.

"Those millions of voices will fuel our development process, helping The Sims 4 to be the most ambitious and the best game our studio has ever made. We can't wait to see our fans' reaction when The Sims 4 comes out in autumn 2014."

The Sims 4 will initially be available only for PC. The Sims 4 Limited Edition costs £44.99 and there is a Digital Deluxe version too, for £54.99, that also adds an Up All Night content pack.