EA Games and Maxis have officially shelved plans for the long-awaited The Sims 5. According to the company’s new strategy, The Sims 4 will continue to serve as the main Sims experience for the series, and plans for a new sequel have been completely canceled for the time being. Instead, the game world will be enriched with more expansion packs and content.
EA’s new strategy: Preserving existing content
Maxis announced that instead of a new Sims game, they will be working on new spin-off projects. These games will expand on the series’ traditional formula and offer different gameplay experiences. However, EA Games is approaching the idea of a The Sims 4 sequel with caution, as they do not want to reset players’ progress.
EA Games stated that previous The Sims games were considered as renewals of the series, with each new game replacing the previous one. However, this strategy will not be applied to The Sims 5 at this time. The company’s roadmap focuses on preserving existing content while adding new projects to the Sims universe.
Steam broke a new record with the number of concurrent players. Accordingly, it reached 37.8 million concurrent players.
EA Games Vice President Kate Gorman had this to say about the new strategy:
“You’ll see more ways to experience The Sims across different platforms and gameplay styles in this universe. Our support for The Sims 4 continues to grow. We will keep delivering expansion packs, updates, and bug fixes. However, the way we move forward will be a bit different.”
Among the upcoming Sims projects are the Sims movie adaptation set to be released on Amazon, The Sims 4 Creator Kits launching in November, and the Sims Labs platform, where players can test new Sims games. One of the most notable projects is Project Rene. Although not a direct sequel to The Sims 4, this project will offer a multiplayer Sims experience.
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