As The Sims 4 approaches seven years old, rumors of a Sims 5 are gaining 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.
While official announcements about The Sims 5 – or whatever Maxis decides to call a Sims 4 sequel – have yet to be made, there are now numerous clues that suggest the long-awaited sequel is imminent at last. Here's what we know so far.
The Sims 5 Release Date
Since there is currently no official confirmation of The Sims 5, there's also no release date.
However, The Sims 4 was only officially announced four months before release. This means that a Sims 5 announcement at EA Play Live 2021, would likely mean a November time release. This timescale lines up with The Sims 4 expansion pack release dates for the past few years.
Will Sims 5 Be On PS5 And Xbox Series X?
The Sims 4 is currently available on PC, Mac, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Due to this cross-platform availability, it makes sense that The Sims 5 is likely to be released on Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 when the time comes. However, the platform releases may be staggered.
All DLC releases now come to all platforms on the same day, but this wasn't always the case. The Sims 4 console wasn't released until November 2017, just over three years after The Sims 4's release in September 2014. It took a further two and a half years for console releases to catch up to PC and Mac ones. The first simultaneous platform release was Eco Lifestyle on June 5, 2020.
Will 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.
Related: The Sims 5:Things We Want EA To Include
Sims 5 News
There are few official news stories referencing The Sims 5 but some are beginning to show up. One of the most recent is a VentureBeat interview with Laura Miele, EA's Chief Studio Officer, who when speaking about The Sims series, confirms that "The team is hard at work on the next generation of that experience."
Sims 5 Rumors
Much of what we know about The Sims 5 is 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 to date:
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.
Related: The Sims 5 Multiplayer: Features We Want & Some We Don't
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.
Related: Reasons The Sims 5 Should Be Announced At EA Play Live
Signs The Sims 5 Is Coming Soon
There are a few signs and very good reasons why The Sims 5 is likely to be announced soon. Here are the basics.
- The Sims 4 is almost 7 years old, the longest active title in the franchise.
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The Sims 4 has 43 pieces of DLC
- 11 Expansions
- 10 Game Packs
- 18 Stuff Packs
- 4 Kits
- This huge list makes starting, or even just finishing, a DLC collection intimidating and expensive.
- All this DLC is designed to work together but is introducing an increasing number of issues into the game.
- The major wants are covered, with the exception of a Generations style family gameplay pack.
- Sims hype is high and the time is right for the franchise to take center stage at EA Play Live 2021.
The Sims 5 Wishlist
Many Simmers have already started creating a wishlist for The Sims 5. Here are a few things that we'd love to see:
- Better Lifestages – Free the babies already, we don't want them to be objects in The Sims 5.
- Cars – We miss cars, especially those you could tinker with.
- More Narrative-Based Features – While The Sims franchise is a sandbox at heart we'd love to see more storytelling, something The Sims 4 began to experiment with in game packs.
- Deeper Emotions – Many still criticize The Sims 4 for having a shallow personality system.
There are also a couple of features that are very divisive in the community. These include:
- The Return Of Open World – While the Sims 3 open-world created an immersive experience many players miss it also caused lag issues and prevents Sims from moving from world to world.
- Multiplayer – This has been strongly hinted at but many players would prefer to keep their Sims worlds as solo experiences.
For many people, whatever comes next is exciting. The Sims 5 looks set to be taking the franchise in new and exciting directions if the comments and job listings are to believed and we can't wait to see where it sends up.
Next: Some Simmers Will Never Be Happy With The Sims 4 Or The Sims 5
