The Sims 5 Is Not Happening

A bit of shocking news for the Sims community: The Sims 4 is not getting a successor in a fifth installment, and Project Rene is actually not The Sims 5. In an official statement to Variety, EA’s vice president and general manager of The Sims franchise Kate Gorman stated the reasons for this decision, what Project Rene really is, as well as what's in store for The Sims 4's future.

Let's figure out what exactly is going on in the Sims world and what we can expect.

The Sims 5: Cancelled Plans

It might have come as a surprise to many that The Sims 5 is not happening, considering the tradition of the franchise to expand on their world with sequels. The reasoning behind stopping at 4 is quite simple.

It's undeniable that The Sims 4 has loyal, committed players who have made so much progress in their games for the past 10 years since the game's release. Kate Gorman considers these fans a vital part of the game's success, so she feels the need to expand on the existing world rather than replace it entirely with a new sequel.

I think as we think about the future of it, we want you to continue all of those families and generations. Those creations are your progress, your attachment. We don’t want to reset your progress.

-Kate Gorman

So what does this really mean? Gordman confirmed The Sims 5 is canceled—there are no plans for a sequel. She elaborates that instead of replacing the game and resetting the play-through experience with each new product release, she wants to build on the existing universe and already-formed attachments the players have to their game.

With that, you’ll see there are more ways to experience ‘The Sims’ on different platforms, different ways to play, transmedia, and lots of great offerings within this universe. So absolutely, we’re still continuing to support ‘TS4’ more than ever.

-Kate Gorman

The Sims: Project Rene

So far, Project Rene was rumored to be a code name for The Sims 5. However, with the newest statement by Gorman, it turns out it's a separate Sims game that the team is working on. The biggest news is that Project Rene is incorporating multiplayer.

Multiplayer is a feature simmers all over the world have craved to experience forever. The closest the Sims community got was the release of The Sims Online in 2002, which was an unfortunate flop.

We have a lot of learnings from The Sims Online. We know that there is an opportunity to play in a very social, real time, multiplayer environment within our gamespace.

-Kate Gorman

EA had the time to refine the idea behind multiplayer Sims, and the team has been working tirelessly for a few years to deliver the proper experience to the community. Gordman teased that we'll soon find out more about the elusive project.

The Sims 4: Major Updates

Now we know that the focus falls on expanding The Sims 4 rather than swapping it for the next new thing. With the release of the Artist Studio Kit & Storybook Nursery Kit on September 19, the upcoming Life and Death Expansion Pack, and more, fans can now rest assured that they don't have to start detaching from their created Sims and families, and they can build upon their legacies with each expansion.

Stay tuned for more updates within the Sims community! EA has been unusually talkative, and we hope they stay talkative. Dag Dag!

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