.sim
Is .sim a real TLD? Who’s applying to run it?
.sim is contested: 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list, as of 7 October 2026. They are Identity Digital and Link Freedom Group. Verse International named .sim as a backup string for its .did application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup. Radix named .sim as a backup string for its .robotics application. ICANN deactivated it, because another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup.
A neat fit for simulators, eSIM sellers, and AI simulation tools, but a niche pick buyers will need a reason to choose over .com.
simulation and sim-racing game studios, AI simulation and digital-twin startups, eSIM and travel-connectivity sellers, and hobbyist simulator communities
In LFG's published list of 300+ strings submitted before the ICANN window closed on 2026-08-12. Their catalog tagline: “Try it, test it, tweak it.”
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .robotics application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
Named on the ICANN gTLD application list, 7 October 2026 as a replacement (backup) string of the applicant's .did application, shown as deactivated: another applicant applied for the same string or named it as a backup
The 2012 applications making the most similar bet. Chosen by AI from every string in that round, without being told what happened to any of them.
Same bet that an unowned, industry-defining cellular common noun can host the primary identity of carriers, MVNOs and connectivity resellers rather than each of them using their own brand — .sim is the component-level version of the same category-word wager.
Closest match in word-type: a three-letter technical acronym for a consumer hardware component that lapsed into everyday speech, betting that a device abbreviation nobody owns can carry a namespace for the vendors and explainer sites around that hardware.
Short, everyday telecom-hardware noun aimed at the same buyer pool — sellers of connectivity and handsets who would put their storefront on the generic thing rather than a brand — differing mainly in that .sim names the part instead of the whole.
What a .sim domain is
.sim is not a TLD yet. It is a string on our record of the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, in our AI & tech category. 2 applications for it are on ICANN’s Reveal Day list.
Is the .sim domain extension real yet?
.sim is not yet a domain extension you can register: nothing resolves under it, and no registrar sells names in it. It is a string applicants have put forward in the ICANN 2026 new gTLD round, the process that decides whether it becomes one.
When can you buy a .sim domain?
You can’t yet. A .sim name can only be registered once the string is delegated (added to the DNS root) and its registry opens. Last round's closest parallel to .sim was .mobile, delegated on 20 December 2016.
Is .sim a real TLD?
Not yet. .sim is not in the DNS root, so nothing resolves under it. It’s here because .sim is on ICANN’s Reveal Day list of applied-for strings. Every entry on this page links to its source.
- Verse International · first recordedICANN
- Radix · first recordedICANN
- Identity Digital · first recordedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · now confirmedICANN
- Link Freedom Group · first recordedLink Freedom Group
“LFGL2683T-T90578 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-213 PTL2645T-T73740 · Pirin Tablet, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-213 RTIS2674T-T99763 · Radix Technologies Inc SEZC · replacement string of .robotics · Deactivated VIL2659T-T55269 · Verse International Limited · replacement string of .did · Deactivated”ICANN
“LFGL2683T-T90578 · Link Freedom Group Ltd · primary · contention set 2026-213 PTL2645T-T73740 · Pirin Tablet, LLC · primary · contention set 2026-213”ICANN
“.sim · AI & Tech · “Try it, test it, tweak it.””Link Freedom Group
- Band: 30-49, usable but limited. The string 'sim' is a genuine, widely used lexical token with several distinct buyer pools: simulation gaming (flight sim, racing sim), AI-era simulation and digital twins, and telecom (SIM/eSIM). That semantic breadth plus its short length keeps it above the 10-29 vanity band; it is not a joke string and plausible primary-identity use exists in each pool. It stays below the 50-69 strong-niche band because none of those pools has demonstrated sustained demand for a new TLD as primary identity; by analogy (flagged as analogy), niche keyword gTLDs with similar semantic fit have tended toward low-volume registration and thin aftermarkets rather than category-default status, and the pools here may also fragment each other: an address that reads as 'SIM card' to one buyer reads as 'simulator' to another, muddying the brand signal. The applicant, Link Freedom Group, filed more than 300 strings in the ICANN 2026 round, which suggests portfolio-scale operation; per-string marketing investment is unknown, so I do not assume strong demand-generation behind this one string. Its published category is 'AI & Tech' with the tagline 'Try it, test it, tweak it.', positioning it toward sandbox/testing use. Main market uncertainty: which buyer pool, if any, dominates, specifically whether AI simulation and sim-gaming projects treat .sim as an identity worth paying for, or whether it settles into low-price hobbyist registrations. Over the next 5 years I expect real but modest registration volume, occasional serious primary-identity use, and a shallow aftermarket concentrated in a handful of generic simulation and telecom keywords.