The Sims 5, once one of EA’s most-anticipated projects, was officially cancelled in 2024. At the time, the decision was described as being best for players, so that in-game family progress and DLC purchases wouldn’t be reset. Now, Laura Miele, EA Entertainment President, has doubled down on this explanation, saying that a possible Sims 5 wouldn’t be a ‘player friendly’ release.
Speaking to Variety, Miele recently described The Sims as one of the ‘biggest growth opportunities for Electronic Arts’ and said that upcoming developments remain exciting for the team. The Sims game codenamed ‘Project Rene‘ – which is believed to be a multiplayer mode or spin-off for the franchise – is currently being developed ‘feverishly’ and the team is hard at work on the project.
The Sims 4 has also become a major new focus of development, as this game is being transformed into more of a cosy ‘ecosystem’ for players.
The Sims 4 is set to be a new community hub for Sims fans
‘What we’re doing is upgrading and refreshing all this technology, and we’ll be adding modes of play — but we also are going to be creating and updating the base technology and the base user experience on the core game,’ Miele told Variety.
‘So you’re going to have this life simulation, you’re going to have multiplayer capabilities, we are going to have mobile expressions of this. We’re doing cosy games as well, and more to come on that … I see The Sims as a significant ecosystem, and a universe of multiple Sims experiences that we have to build on.’
As noted by Miele, The Sims 4 will be a major focus for EA moving forward, with this game set to be transformed. It’s part of the reason why The Sims 5 won’t be necessary – EA is keen to have The Sims 4 expand into its own platform, to become a hub and a community for players.
‘What I wouldn’t want to have happen is you to have to start from day zero and start from scratch and give up all of the things that you have created, give up all of the content that you’ve purchased over the years,’ Miele said. ‘We put out over 85 content packs over the last 10 years on The Sims 4, and so resetting that is not player friendly and not a good idea for our community.’
Read: The Sims 4: The best expansion packs so far
The reality is, players remain engaged with The Sims 4, as new expansion packs invite them to continue their adventures. And with EA constantly introducing new fan-requested features, like the return of fairies, options for home businesses, funerals, and more, it’s likely that engagement will remain.
Starting fresh with The Sims 5 doesn’t make sense at this stage, and while there are plenty of players who wanted this sequel, to refresh the Sims experience, there are many more who likely see the logic in sticking with The Sims 4. As it stands, the game’s many expansion packs, stuff packs, game packs, and kits are expensive, and the thought of leaving them behind is difficult.
While the argument could be made that forward compatibility with The Sims 5 would address these concerns, that raises another question: what is the value of starting fresh, when The Sims 4 remains fully-featured, perfectly compatible with modern computers, and it remains good-looking, and relatively well-performing?
There’s absolutely room for disappointment here. The Sims 5 was a bright and shiny prospect prior to its cancellation, with plenty of speculation about how much bigger, bolder, and prettier it would be, compared to its predecessor. But with The Sims 4 feeling more evergreen than ever, with a stack of new expansion packs and constant improvements to haul it forward, there is a path to acceptance in its evolution.
The Sims 5 being cancelled hurts, but as Miele says, leaving behind all that DLC, and all those stories, would likely feel much worse. Going forward, avid players of The Sims 4 can expect to see this game continue to expand, with new modes and expansion packs hopefully lessened the blow that is the loss of The Sims 5.
