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- The Sims 5 Is Currently Known As Project Rene
- Project Rene's First Confirmed Features
- Grant Rodiek Talks Project Rene's Multi-Platform Experience
- Lyndsey Pearson Talks Project Rene's Pricing And Its Place In The Sims Series
- Further Project Rene Features Showcased
- The Sims 5 Is Confirmed As Not In Development
- So, What Is Project Rene, If It Isn't The Sims 5?
- A Timeline Of The Sims 5 Rumors And News Prior To The Sims Summit In October 2022
As The Sims 4 approached seven years old, rumors of a Sims 5 release gained a new level of intensity. This is the longest gap between main titles in The Sims series' history and Simmers have been fiercely speculating about a sequel since jobs for an "early-in-development AAA Title at Maxis" were published back in September 2018. When long-term Sims 4 Senior Producer Grant Rodiek was said to be leaving The Sims 4 team to do other "awesome Maxis things" back in April 2019, fuel was added to the fire, which has not been extinguished since.
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PostsAfter years of speculation, on October 18, 2022, the existence of a new mainline Sims title, currently known as Project Rene, was announced. This article includes everything revealed about the game so far.
Updated September 18, 2024, By Helen Ashcroft: As EA announces what it calls The Future Of The Sims, the statement on its website offers some new details on Project Rene, including how it won't be a sequel to The Sims 4, and why The Sims 5 will likely never happen.
The Sims 5 Is Currently Known As Project Rene
During The Sims Summit on October 18, 2022, Lyndsay Pearson announced Project Rene, the working title for what is being described as "the next generation Sims game and platform." The game is currently in very early development, but more information will be revealed over time as it begins to take shape.
The current name takes inspiration from the words renewal, renaissance, and rebirth, concepts said to be key to the development of the game.
Will Project Rene (Sims 5) Be On PS5, Xbox Series X, or Mobile?
The Sims 4 is currently available on PC, Mac, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4, with mobile being covered by a separate title, The Sims Mobile. However, it's stated that the vision for Project Rene is that it will be a "true multi platform experience."
A short test clip of footage, shown in the screenshot above, shows the same game interface accessible on both PC and mobile, a sign of things to come.
Will Project Rene (Sims 5) be on Steam?
While The Sims 4 is currently now on Steam, it is a recent addition, having remained exclusive to EA's Origin platform until June 2020. It's highly unlikely that any sequel would go straight to the competing marketplace. However, this is yet to be confirmed.
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PostsProject Rene's First Confirmed Features
The gallery below showcases the features shown off in the Livestream, with more details added below.
CloseNow Project Rene has finally been revealed, or at least the fact it exists has been confirmed, there are a few things we know. Here's a quick rundown of the confirmed features in more detail.
- Free To Play Base Game - This was confirmed on September 12, 2023 in a Livestream.
- Multiplayer - The game will allow you to play alone or collaborate with friends.
- Multi-Platform - The game experience aims to be transferable between devices, with an identical interface shown on both a PC and mobile screen.
- A Colour Wheel - Screenshots show the much-desired colour wheel making a return and even includes adding RGB values.
- Pattern Selection On Swatches - A huge range of patterns for swatches were visible.
- Movable Clutter And Accessories - We were shown independently movable cushions.
- Changes To Individual Elements Of Items - A bed headboard was changed with a swatch, as well as the size of a bed. Options were also shown for different combinations of cushions on a sofa.
These features are just the start, as the team promises a true evolution of the series, aiming to take The Sims and push it as far as possible in all areas.
Grant Rodiek Talks Project Rene's Multi-Platform Experience
Grant Rodeik, a frequent face on social media during the early days of The Sims 4, has been revealed as the Game Director for Project Rene. He told viewers of Behind The Sims that while the game is "years out" early-stage play testing for small parts of the game is underway. This includes testing the accessibility of mobile, the UI, and the distribution of player-created content such as Sims and lots.
The multi-platform game will be the same core title on all platforms, but mobile may have some limitations. Rodeik says "The thing that excites us so much is that we can basically remove the barriers to play The Sims. What we mean by this is that you can have that deep dive at home on your PC, play for four hours and change every single thing about a piece of furniture that you can imagine..." After describing how this includes changing the colours using RGB values, he continues "Then you can grab your phone, and maybe it's a different experience, maybe you are grabbing archetypes, pre-selecting templates or using stuff that you've already created. But what this means is that you can now play The Sims wherever you are, without barriers and without restrictions."
Rodeik also tells us that you can continue to play the same game across all platforms, accessing the same households etc, but the experience will be tailored to the specific platform.
Lyndsey Pearson Talks Project Rene's Pricing And Its Place In The Sims Series
The third episode of Behind The Sims featured an interview with Lyndsay Pearson, VP Franchise Creative, about Project Rene and its place in The Sims series. A couple of important things were confirmed, namely the fact the base game will be free-to-play from the start, as well as the fact that "Project Rene and The Sims 4 are going to continue to exist side by side." Pearson confirms the team plans to "support both at the same time" meaning more content for The Sims 4 "for the foreseeable future."
Pearson also talks about the Sims series as a whole, stating that the team are "always looking for ways to bring The Sims to more players and keep that charming character and creation center at the heart of what we make." She also emphasizes that they continually ask:
What must we preserve to make this still a Sims game, and what can we do in this game that we couldn't do before? Lyndsey Pearson
For Project Rene the answer is accessibility. Pearson goes on to talk about how the game will be free-to-play at launch, and over time the base game will continue to be developed alongside paid DLC. Most importantly, she specifies there will be no subscription, no core game purchase and no energy mechanics.
The Sims 4 is currently free to play with DLC taking the form of packs of differing sizes. Currently, we don't know if Project Rene's DLC model will be store based, as in older games, or pack-based, as it is currently, or take some other form. All we know is that the team intend for core mechanics to stay in the free base game, so they can be utilized for more DLC. Pearson used weather as a theoretical example for this illustration, talking about how if weather was in the base game, it's features could easily be used to create different packs such as winter sports.
Whatever form this DLC model takes, there's a lot of mention of strong foundations to build upon, so while a base game won't be as comprehensive as The Sims 4 is at this point, there's hope that it will be more in depth than previous games have been at launch.
Further Project Rene Features Showcased
Gina, The Creative Director for Project Rene spoke at The Sims Summit about how the team is building a large amount of the game in parallel, working on multiple features at once. We also got a sneak peek at the following features.
Lighting
Stu, Art & Visual Effect Director, talks about how the team are "exploring some new lighting technologies" and want to create an experience that allows for highly customisable spaces across devices.
Animation
Nawwaf, Animation Director, informs us that the animation is "driven by the phrase read the room." This involves a focus on Sims being able to show their thoughts and feelings through body language and behaviour.
Neighbourhoods And Households
It appears that Sims in the neighbourhood will be more fully fleshed out, with talk of schedules and routines. Manu, Technical Director, also discusses how the team is slowly bringing the basics to life, working out how Sims will navigate the world.
Create A Sim
Azure, a Producer, goes on to tell us how important hairstyles are in Sim creation and that the aim of this new version of The Sims is to create a wide variety of styles and incorporate flexible colouring.
Socialisation
Jill, another Producer, gives us an insight into the importance of socialisation. She talks about how there is currently a lot of information, with animations, thought balloons, the UI, and pop-up moodlets. She then tells us that the team is working on simplifying things, allowing you to tell what your Sims are thinking through clearer visuals.
The Sims 5 Is Confirmed As Not In Development
After almost a year without updates, EA confirmed that The Sims 5 is NOT in development. However, Project Rene does still exist. It just isn't a sequel, as we believed. In a statement on its website about the future of The Sims EA states:
The Sims will move beyond linear, sequential Sims releases and offer more options for players than ever before. EA
This suggests that The Sims 4 will go on to be the flagship game of the series, with other projects existing alongside it, as The Sims Freeplay does currently.
Looking back, the team never referred to Project Rene as The Sims 5. However, they do refer to it as being separate from The Sims 4, and existing alongside it.
So, What Is Project Rene, If It Isn't The Sims 5?
Given we have assumed Project Rene to be The Sims 5, it's only natural that we are now left wondering what on earth it actually is. Given that it is still in development, but isn't a "linear sequel", what can we expect from this project.
The official line is:
Project Rene is focused on building ways for friends to meet, connect, and share while playing together in an all-new world.
It's also said to be undergoing a small play test in the Fall, using the new Sims Labs branding.
The statement goes on to say "We’re focused on creating a variety of games and experiences that will touch different categories across the simulated life genre including cozy games, social and collaborative based gameplay, mobile narrative games and continued depth, improvements, and modernization of The Sims 4, which will continue to be a foundational Sims experience."
This suggests that instead of a sequel, we will instead get more regular updates to The Sims 4, which already fits the promised free-to-play base game experience.
If you look back at the Project Rene images above, they do have a lot in common with The Sims 4 in terms of style, and could be described as a kind of Sims 4.5, with a few extra features and a few more sharp edges. Given what we know now, it seems likely that instead of a full new game we'll see some new functionality in The Sims 4 alongside new parallel titles that explore new ideas.
Rather than being The Sims 5, Project Rene looks more likely to turn out to be a new iteration of The Sims Online, an MMO that ran from 2002 to 2008, and focused on a small world based on The Sims, which allowed players to create Sims and live in a virtual neighbourhood where they could buy and build houses, own venues, and interact with others.
Once again, more information is promised, with the bulk of it likely to coincide with the series' 25th Anniversary on February 4, 2025.
A Timeline Of The Sims 5 Rumors And News Prior To The Sims Summit In October 2022
Much of what we know about the development cycle of Project Rene prior to the announcement was based on speculation and rumors, but certain key events, quotes, and job postings do allow us to piece together the puzzle. Here are the most important pieces of information we found that show the game's journey so far.
September 2018 - Maxis Posts Jobs For Concept Artists, Software Engineers, And More
Concept Artists are commonly used in early-stage development and these job listings kicked off development rumors. These posts were followed by more asking for Software Engineers, an Executive Producer, and a Character Modeler
April 2019 - Grant Rodiek Changes Roles
As mentioned earlier, Grant Rodiek left The Sims 4 in April 2019 to work on a different Maxis project. At first glance, this may not seem all that important until Rodiek's job history is taken into account. He began working at EA as a Lead & Associate Producer for The Sims 3 in September 2005. He stayed there until November 2010, when he switched to The Sims 4, which was still firmly in development at the time.
This history of only moving from one game to work on its sequel has led many to speculate that Rodiek moved to be a Senior Producer on The Sims 5.
January 2020 - Andrew Wilson Hints At Multiplayer Sims
In The Third Quarter of FY2020 earnings call there was an expected piece of Sims 5 news when Andrew Wilson, EA's CEO, stated that "this notion of social interactions and competition like the kind of things that were actually present in The Sims Online many many years ago – they will start to become a part of The Sims experience in the years to come."
This led many to speculate that either The Sims Online may be returning or that The Sims 5 may feature multiplayer.
January 2021 - More Job Listings
Several levels of Software engineers, Animators, and UI/UX engineer jobs were posted online. This suggests that production is ramping up.
March 2021 - Specialist Jobs Advertised
These job descriptions specify the development of "globally available web services that support millions of players" as well as the requirement to "Creatively blend security best practices and original techniques to keep user data secure and prevent cheating."
There are also further listings advertised for narrative-based roles, suggesting the title may have more story-driven content than The Sims 4.
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