Forget The Sims 5, Franchise Reveals ‘Next Evolution’ And It’s Bad News

The Sims franchise has revealed the “next evolution” of the series, and it might be a while before we actually get the next main game in the series.

It’s been nearly 12 years since The Sims 4 released, and the game is still going strong with new expansion packs, kits, and other pieces of content releasing each year.

However, it might be a while before we see The Sims 5, or whatever the franchise’s next incarnation on PC and consoles looks like, as Electronic Arts is looking at another Sims project in the meantime.

In a new blog post from The Sims developer Maxis, the developer has teased more around its upcoming ‘Project Rene’, revealing details about the upcoming spin-off.

“Thanks to ongoing player feedback, Project Rene has evolved to focus on social multiplayer play, offering a more direct way for friends to share creativity together,” Maxis wrote.

“It is not the successor to The Sims 4 and is a separate experience from any future deep, single player life simulation experience. It introduces a new way to explore and play together within the growing Sims family of games, welcoming Simmers who want to connect directly with other players.”

Electronic Arts

Project Rene Is Not The Successor To The Sims 4

Project Rene has been teased by EA for a few years now, and it was assumed that the game would have initially been the next successor to The Sims 4. However, given how different it was going to be from the mainline Sims games, Maxis was reluctant to label it The Sims 5. It may also be linked to recent leaks showing what potential Sims could look like in the next game.

Meanwhile, Maxis states that it remains committed to “single-player life simulation experiences”, teasing further updates to The Sims 4 in the near future.

“At its core, The Sims was built on a deep, single-player life simulation, chock full of rich systems, meaningful storytelling, and player agency that puts you in control,” Maxis adds in the blog post. “That foundation isn’t going anywhere. We’ll continue to deliver content and updates to The Sims 4 and we are committed to improving the experience.”

Maxis also teases that the “next evolution” of the mainline game series is being worked on, but doesn’t elaborate beyond that. It stresses that The Sims 4 is still a core focus for the company, but that more news on the game’s future would be coming in the following months.

Still, I can’t help but feel this means The Sims 5 is still years away, which might come as a burn to anyone hoping to finally get a new game. Scroll down to find out what we'd like the art direction of The Sims 5 to take. Looks pretty cool, I think.