Community run re-implementation of The Sims Online™, based on the original FreeSO project by riperiperi. LegacySO or FreeSO are not in any way affiliated with Electronic Arts or The Sims.

News: §10,000 Starting Money & Referral Scheme

8th July 2025

Starting money has been a staple in life simulation games for as long as the genre has been around. Historically, when it comes to games like The Sims Online (TSO) the way to approach starting money has been tricky, especially when it comes to a free-to-play game like LegacySO.

Back when the original TSO released, you had to pay to play the game. Due to this, there was never really a problem with people getting default starting bonuses. It was probably one of the first recorded instances of pay to win!

It’s important, however, in order to cultivate a player base that can reward a living city, like LegacySO offers, it’s important that as a server we reward our players in turn. As such, we’re pleased to announce that we are implementing a permanent starting money grant for new players. Due to the easy way this could be abused if it was granted to everyone automatically, the way we’ve done it is a little bit different. Read on for more information about the changes and how you can claim it for yourself.

A Sim at a cooking station preparing a fresh batch of preserves to sell in order to make a profit
Jams, glorious jams

Claim your Starting Money

LegacySO would like to offer you a starting bonus of §10,000 in-game to start you on your journey and buy your first home. To claim this bonus, you will have to join our Discord server.

Follow the steps below to claim your reward, only one reward is applicable per player:

  1. Join the official LegacySO Discord server
  2. Reach out to a member of LegacySO staff via Direct Message
  3. Provide the staff member with the email address you signed up with and the Sim you would like the bonus applied to
  4. Wait for the team to review and approve your application, at this time the review process is manual so this could take up to a day (although it’s normally quicker)
  5. The team will let you know when your bonus has been applied (you may have to log out and back in for the bonus to show)

Please note the following terms and conditionsin place for this promotion:

  • Players must join the LegacySO discord server to claim their reward
  • The promotion can only be claimed once per person (only one account is permitted per person, as per the rules)
  • Each player must claim the reward themselves via Discord, you cannot claim the reward on behalf of somebody else
  • If you claimed a starting bonus during LegacySO’s first week of operation, you are ineligible for this reward as this promotion is a permanent extension of that event
  • Players found abusing this promotion by creating multiple accounts will be punished accordingly, including but not limited to the removal of all game funds

This event is complimentary and does not constitute a prize or a tangible reward. You can’t buy in-game money with assets from the real world, nor is this event reward transferrable in any way. Any abuse of this promotion may result in its early termination and/or your right to receive this reward being revoked without warning. FreeSO and LegacySO are never, have never, or will never be monetised, allow donations, paid content, paid services or any similar transaction. We remain fully independent, community-ran and open source.

Because the application process is manual, there is a small chance that there may be a delay in granting successful players their starting money. This is an unfortunate reality of having to moderate a system that could easily be abused (and it was abused back when the official FreeSO server was in operation).

If there is ever a reason as to why there may be an expected delay in rewarding players with their starting money, this will be announced on our Discord server.

Referral Bonuses

Did you know you can also earn cool rewards in-game by referring your friends?

Now that we’ve all had some time to settle into the Simland Ilses, it’s time to extend that same warm welcome to our friends and family! Please see below for details of our new referral scheme.

What is the referral scheme?

Earn rewards for inviting friends and new players to LegacySO! The rewards you earn scale with how many new players you invite.

How do I refer people?

It’s really very simple:

  1. Spread the word about LegacySO to your friends – the more the better!
  2. Have your friend register and join the game and join our Discord server (this is important!)
  3. When your friend joins Discord, have them send a direct message a member of LegacySO staff and instruct them to refer your username (that you use to log into the game) – this is your referral code

Upon verification, you and your friend will gain rewards in-game!

What are the rewards?

Rewards for players you refer:
Upon successful validation: §5,000 in-game (1 Sim only)

Rewards for you (granted per-referral):
✨ 1-4 Referrals ✨
💠 §2,000 in-game

✨ 5 Referrals ✨
📺 Soma Plasma TV (worth §10,000 in-game!)

✨ 6-9 Referrals ✨
💠 §3,000 in-game

✨ 10 Referrals ✨
♨️ WhirlWizard Hot Tub (worth §18,000 in-game!)

✨ 11-14 Referrals ✨
💠 §4,000 in-game

✨ 15+ Referrals ✨
Who knows? Stay tuned for more information

If you have any questions, please let me know. Anyone found abusing this promotion will be sanctioned accordingly.

To Summarise

We hope these plans will help cultivate new growth for LegacySO and give new players a reason to stick around and build a (virtual) life here. The goal is always to do what works best for our players. These changes were brought about following player feedback, so if you have any suggestions as to how LegacySO can improve we are all ears. Please let us know via our Discord server and we’d be happy to take your thoughts on board.

Until next time, take care everyone.

-Ben