The Sims developer Maxis is kicking off the brand new yr with an replace on what its entire deal is, after loads of rumors and issues about the way forward for the franchise. Ans as part of that, it appears to be teasing the “subsequent evolution” of single-player PC and console The Sims video games…at the same time as its long-touted “subsequent technology” of The Sims, Challenge Rene, is relegated to a mobile-only social spin-off.
This comes from a prolonged weblog publish on the EA web site, by which Maxis speaks at size about its philosophy round The Sims within the coming yr. Most of it’s fairly mission statement-y, however within the center, we get a glimpse of what is deliberate for the way forward for The Sims.
For 3 years now, Maxis has been teasing one thing referred to as Challenge Rene. Initially billed as the way forward for The Sims that will exist throughout PC and cell, EA nonetheless refused to name it The Sims 5. Since 2022, there have been a number of closed playtests, and the suggestions has steadily soured as Challenge Rene more and more began to seem like a fairly fundamental cell recreation. In the meantime, whereas The Sims 4 group stays sturdy, there hasn’t been a lot dialogue on what The Sims 5 would possibly seem like, or if the console and PC base ought to even anticipate something new in any respect. As lately as final August, EA Leisure president Laura Miele insisted that it would not be “player-friendly” to launch one when the group had already invested a lot money and time into The Sims 4.
Which is why the wording on this weblog publish is each thrilling and nerve-wracking as a The Sims fan. The publish separates out its plans for “The Sims” on PC and console, and Challenge Rene. For PC and console, Maxis reaffirms its dedication to new content material for The Sims 4, and provides that “Single-player PC and console experiences will at all times be part of our future, with greater than half of our world growth staff devoted to The Sims 4 and the subsequent evolution. Extra information within the coming months!”
That wording, “the subsequent evolution,” is big. Whereas it isn’t precisely “The Sims 5,” it is the primary crumb we have gotten in years that we’d see one thing like one finally. What’s much more promising is that EA is designating Challenge Rene as a social, multiplayer recreation that is mobile-first. That is disappointing for individuals who had been hoping Challenge Rene can be an thrilling new future, nevertheless it appears like that is nonetheless going to exist in some style alongside regardless of the precise new evolution is.
Nonetheless, Maxis has a tough street forward. Miele is right that one of many largest points with a brand new The Sims recreation is that gamers have spent tons of cash already on growth packs for The Sims 4, and traditionally model new The Sims video games have felt woefully characteristic incomplete after they launch with no such packs. That was the case with The Sims 4, which launched to comparatively weak critiques as gamers adjusted to the shock of options they’d come to get used to – pets, interactive youngsters, climate – out of the blue gone, till a brand new paid growth pack was launched.
It could behoove Maxis to determine all this out, as a result of The Sims 4 is over a decade outdated now, and beginning to present its age. What’s extra, numerous potential opponents have come out of the woodwork lately, together with Krafton’s inZOI and the indie Paralives, each in early entry.
The latest The Sims 4 growth pack was Journey Awaits, which launched in October of final yr.
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Obtained a narrative tip? Ship it to rvalentine@ign.com.
