While everyone has been enjoying The Sims 4 over recent years, with plenty of expansions to stay busy, many are wondering what might be next for the popular franchise. News about the game many fans believe will be The Sims 5 first leaked under the code name Project Rene, and EA continues to use this name when discussing it.
We still don’t have too many details about the newest game in the franchise, but EA has started to drop some hints here and there. Like any good fandom, the Sims community is all too happy to take what we know for sure and run with it.
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Does The Next Sims Game Have a Release Date
We don’t have an official release date for Project Rene, though speculation has increased now that EA is talking about the project a bit more often. The details may be limited, but we can still start getting excited about something new coming to The Sims by taking a look at what we do know and what we can guess.
A Reddit poll asking when fans think The Sims 5 is happening showed 2025 as the clear winner, with Never making a surprise grab for second place. Given that some fans think Project Rene might not actually be The Sims 5 at all, that answer makes sense.
What We Know For Sure About The Sims 5
First, let’s cover what we actually know straight from EA itself. Game developer Maxis has shared that Project Rene is in “very early development,” which includes play testing from members of the Sims community.
They’ve also shown a few early development images in the Behind the Sims video series, but with the heavy caveat that these are exploratory images only and that the final version of the game will likely look different.
EA has also stressed that it will continue to support The Sims 4 alongside Project Rene, updating and releasing new content for both versions simultaneously, at least in the near future.
The Base Game Will Be Free to Download and Play
In the most recent Behind the Sims video, we learned that the base game for “The Sims 5” will be free to download and play. The Sims 4 base game is also currently free, so this may well be a new direction for the company to get players in on the ground level – where, of course, we’ll want to buy all the shiny new DLCs. EA also mentioned that they won’t use one of those irritating energy mechanics to limit free daily gameplay and push players toward in-game purchases.
The Sims franchise is notorious for its numerous expansion and stuff packs, and EA has provided some basic information on what this will look like for Project Rene. Though there will be expansion packs for sale, the base game will also get some of the more basic updates as new features roll out. This sounds like a fix for the issue of certain features being exclusive to one game expansion, meaning that it’s difficult to have a smooth experience with newer expansions if you’re missing some of their predecessors.
Project Rene Will Include Multiplayer, Cross-Platform Play
Other tidbits shared previously include some kind of multiplayer option that allows Simmers to interact with their friends, and the game will be playable across different devices. Many fans read this as meaning the game will be available on mobile in some capacity. However, that has not been confirmed at this time.
Project Rene Might Not Actually be The Sims 5
The most recent Behind the Sims featured some comparisons to spin-off Sims games like Castaway and Sims Medieval. This has led to speculation that one of the reasons EA keeps calling it “Project Rene” is because it isn’t actually The Sims 5 but something altogether different. Add in the fact that The Sims 4 will be supported alongside Project Rene, and this rumor starts looking credible.
These side games are less universally beloved than the core games and would certainly be a different approach than what many players were hoping to see from Project Rene. Still, other major installments in the series, like The Sims 4, did have code names before their official announcement – so we’re not ready to write off the possibility that Project Rene is indeed The Sims 5.
Though the game is in early development and still largely shrouded in mystery, EA continues to drop hints and updates that suggest they want fans to get excited about the next installment in the Sims franchise.
