Sims 5 is Not Happening and
I’m Okay with That
Posted on August 6, 2025 by Aywren
Back in 2023, we learned about the upcoming Sims game, which is still titled Project Rene. Most of us just assumed it was going to be the next in the numbered Sims series, most obviously, Sims 5.
I even blogged about it here. The big debate at the time was that it was going to be free to play at launch, and all the dangers that sort of payment model brings, of course.
However, in recent interviews, EA is saying this isn’t going to be the case – Project Rene is not slated to be the Sims 5 at all. The reason why, they stated, was because they’ve put out so much content and players have invested so much money and time into Sims 4, that to start all over again from scratch with Sims 5 would be a bad experience.
Looking at my massive Sims 4 library, which I tend to add to on random Sims sales (and sometimes the launch of new expansion packs), I get what they’re saying. But at the same time, pardon me for being suspicious, but this is EA we’re talking about.
Not bringing out Sims 5, and continuing to produce content for Sims 4 alongside of whatever Project Rene will launch as seems like a consumer-friendly move. But is it really to benefit us? We all know these companies do what makes money. So, I feel like somewhere down the line, someone just felt like developing Sims 5 was not going to line their pockets in a significant way.
Who knows? Maybe they’re out of ideas on how to expand and innovate on the life simulation system in a meaningful enough way. We know that Project Rene is likely to have an online component, which seems to be the next obvious evolution for Sims, but they don’t seem to want to be embedded in the next numbered version of Sims. Maybe they actually learned something from their SimCity failure?
All that to say, I honestly don’t mind.
I’ve never been one of the pitchfork-toting folks when it comes to the Sims series. I accepted the fact that moving from Sims 3 to Sims 4 meant that tons of features I was used to in the previous game would take time and expansions to implement in the new. That’s how it was for Sims 2 to Sims 3, as well.
And the truth is, there’s still a ton of things I haven’t done or discovered in Sims 4. I’ve bought several packs and expansions that I’ve hardly scratched the surface of, despite the fact I was very excited to pick them up at launch and mess around with them.
This is all on me, though, and on my fragmented ability to stay focused on any one game long enough to really deep dive into it. So, the fact that Sims 4 isn’t going anywhere just means less pressure on me to move on to a new game before I’ve had a chance to experience the things I want with the current game.
I mean, it’s not as if they’re slowing the cadence of DLC releases for Sims 4 so far. From the sounds of it, that’s nothing we have to be afraid of for anytime soon. I’m actually good with that.
If you’re interested in seeing what the community has to say, here’s an ongoing poll on the Sims Community website and a good write-up of info about the topic.