EA Won't Drop Sims 4 Support When Project Rene Comes Out

As a dedicated Sims enthusiast with a decade-long journey through the digital lives of virtual humans, I can’t help but feel a sense of relief and excitement about the new direction that The Sims franchise is taking. For years, we’ve been building our simulated families and friendships, only to start over with each new iteration. But now, it seems like EA is finally listening to its community!


In a change from past series installments, it seems that the upcoming expansion of The Sims franchise, codenamed Project Rene, won’t be The Sims 5 as we know it. Instead, this new project appears to deviate from the traditional numbered entries in the series where players would start fresh while EA discontinued the previous game. Interestingly, after Project Rene is launched, Electronic Arts will still provide updates and additional content for The Sims 4. Furthermore, there’s a possibility that both games could share some content and progression mechanisms.

A catch-all blog detailing the future of The Sims franchise, including the live-action movie, had a few details to share about what Project Rene actually is, referring to it as an experience “focused on building ways for friends to meet, connect, and share while playing together in an all-new world.” In other words, it’s a true multiplayer version of The Sims, but we already knew that.

Information directly from Kate Gorman, General Manager of The Sims franchise, was shared during her interview with Variety. She referred to this development as a shift in the franchise’s underlying approach or thinking.

Gorman clarified that it’s not about Sims 5 taking the place of Sims 4. Instead, they aim to enhance the high-definition simulation experience and deliver what fans might expect from a Sims 5. However, there are no plans to erase your progress or make you start over, so you won’t lose all the fantastic gameplay you’ve built up in Sims 4.

It makes sense that this adjustment was made, considering The Sims 4 has existed for twice as long as any of its preceding mainline versions, and during its ten-year span, it has amassed an extensive library of DLC. To discard all of that would have been a significant challenge; evidently, they’ve opted not to do so.

Initially, The Sims series began with The Sims 1, followed by The Sims 2, 3, and 4. According to Gorman, these games were considered updates or replacements of their predecessors. However, moving forward, the team is focusing on a new phase for The Sims. Rather than creating replacements, they aim to expand and enhance their universe. This means players can expect various ways to engage with The Sims across multiple platforms, innovative gameplay styles, transmedia content, and numerous exciting additions within this world. Rest assured, support for The Sims 4 continues, with regular expansion packs, updates, fixes, and more. But the approach going forward will be slightly different.

It’s challenging to predict exactly what this implies, but we do have a fair understanding of Project Rene at this point – it’s been a hidden project for quite some time now, keeping fans on the edge of their seats, anticipating a major unveiling. That moment hasn’t arrived yet, but individuals can register to participate in testing Project Rene through The Sims Labs here.

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2024-09-17 21:09