First revealed during the Behind the Sims Summit last year, The Sims 5, aka Project Rene, has intrigued longtime fans of the franchise. There seems to be a lot riding on the fifth installment being more unique and immersive than The Sims 4, especially since it's being made with Unreal Engine 5. The previous game had almost a decade's worth of expansion packs and quality-of-life updates that enhanced players' experience as they grew their virtual families. It's possible that The Sims 5 would either adopt past features and improve upon them, or create completely new ones.
Fortunately, there were already many people who got to playtest The Sims 5 early. Some revealed that it had more detailed furniture customization with retexturing and recoloring tools, apartments, and a multiplayer mode, among many others. It's likely that these features could still change during development, but they were enough to pique the interest of longtime Sims fans. But there's one specific detail that gamers have been patiently waiting for.
When Will The Sims 5 Reveal More Details?
Currently, The Sims 5 doesn't have a release date yet. It's still in very early development, so it's crucial for the Maxis and Electronic Arts (EA) teams to gather feedback from playtesters to further improve the final product. It's also been a while since Maxis and EA revealed official details about The Sims 5. Back in February, an episode of "Behind the Sims" on YouTube showcased some of the confirmed features that will be in the game, including cross-platform play for Sims 5 on PC and mobile.
Some gamers seemed to think that The Sims 5 would be out by early next year. However, Project Rene game director Grant Rodiek said on Behind the Sims that they still had "a long path ahead of us" in terms of completing the game. What is certain though is that The Sims 5 will have a series of Early Access periods coming in the next few years. The release date for this is still unknown, but Maxis and EA might unveil it during the next edition of the Behind the Sims Summit. Last year's showcase was in October, so it's safe to assume that it might be scheduled around the same time—especially since EA Play doesn't seem to be coming back anytime soon.
If by any chance the Behind the Sims Summit would get canceled this year, the Sims 5 team might update eager fans via an in-depth YouTube video in the next few months. The next one could focus more on Sims 5's character creation and a closer look at its reported open-world map. It can also show how players could utilize new features, like an updated trait system and relationship building.
The lack of Sims 5 updates might worry some fans, especially with major gaming companies announcing that they were closing studios and canceling certain titles. But it could just mean that the developers are just hard at work, making sure that Sims 5 would run smoothly. Assuming that it would be bigger than its predecessors, there might be a lot of moving parts that would require significant time and effort to complete.
While waiting for the official release of The Sims 5, many players have been enjoying The Sims 4's latest content, like the Growing Together DLC and Bathroom Clutter DLC, as well as custom creations from talented creators. They can definitely expect more expansion packs to come out until it's time for The Sims 5 to officially launch. It might take a while, but as many have seen from the occasional Project Rene updates, Sims 5 could exceed expectations.
The Sims 5 is in development.