EA announces The Sims 5 is in development – sort of
The Sims 5 is in production, EA and Maxis announced during a special Sims news broadcast, except the new life sim game might not actually be The Sims 5. EA avoided giving the project a name as a direct sequel to The Sims 4 and referred to it as The Sims Project Rene, the next generation of the long-running life-sim franchise, and based on what EA has in store for Project Rene, it may be much more than just the next numbered Sims game.
Project Rene will let players pick up their saves across multiple devices, including PC and mobile devices, and developer Maxis said it’s both a single-player and a multiplayer, online experience.
“Project Rene will fundamentally evolve how Sims think and behave, how players create and customize their worlds, and innovate in entirely new ways,” EA said in a summary of the broadcast.
“The Sims has always evolved to reflect our players and their experiences, and we are building on that foundation to encourage creativity and the ability to tell meaningful stories.”
EA and Maxis teased some of the enhanced customizations with a short segment showing a player customizing nearly every aspect of a bed furnishing, including the frame itself, footboard, and coverings.
As for changing how Sims think and behave, EA and Maxis are already adding a taste of that to The Sims 4, which is now free to play. A new, also free update releasing in 2023 will change how the game perceives babies, recognizing them as human Sims with needs of their own instead of just objects in a cradle until they reach the toddler years.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF