- We might not see The Sims 5 in the future.
- How Electronic Arts buyout might change the games future.
- What happened to The Sims Project Rene.
The Sims 4 was released nearly 12 years ago, and since then, publisher Electronic Arts has released more than 85 expansion packs and DLC. Now that the game is starting to show its age, many fans have been expecting a new entry, one that would wipe the slate clean and take the popular sandbox and simulation franchise in a new direction.
The Franchise Will Go On But We Might Not See The Sims 5
Players have had to start from scratch every couple of years. The original Sims came out in 2000, The Sims 2 was released in 2004, and The Sims 3 followed five years later in 2009. Since The Sims 4 was released in 2014, it already had an unusually long lifespan, but Electronic Arts’s announcement that The Sims 5 was not happening still caught many players by surprise.
According to Electronic Arts President Laura Miele, it would be unfair to make players abandon years and often hundreds or even thousands of hours of accumulated content. “What I wouldn’t want to have happen, is you to have to start from day zero and start from scratch, and give up all of the things that you have created, give up all of the content you’ve purchased over the years,” Miele explained. That does not mean the franchise is winding down.
The Sims 4 released Royalty & Legacy, its twenty-first expansion pack, on Feb. 12, 2026, following the launch of Adventure Awaits in October 2025. While Electronic Arts’s focus on respecting player investments might seem like a change in direction for the famously controversial company, it’s just as likely that Electronic Arts isn’t convinced players will reinvest in a new iteration of the franchise.
Could the Electronic Arts Buyout Change Plans for The Sims 5?
The announcement of the $55 billion Electronic Arts buyout sent shockwaves through the community, with many fans worrying about how the news could impact the game going forward. One of the main investors in the purchase is Saudi Arabia’s PIF, a notoriously conservative country. Many players are concerned that the buyout will eventually lead to LGBT content being removed from the game. The buyout leaves Electronic Arts saddled with $20 billion in debt, so some Electronic Arts studios are likely to be sold off.
The Sims is one of Electronic Arts’s most profitable franchises, so Maxis is unlikely to be at the top of the chopping block, but it’s possible that Electronic Arts will sell Maxis and The Sims if the right deal comes along.
While changes are possible, it’s unlikely that Electronic Arts will be changing its plans for The Sims 4 anytime soon. The buyout isn’t projected to be finalized until 2027, so Electronic Arts will presumably continue with its current plans for the game throughout 2026. Since Electronic Arts is currently focused on quality of life improvements, The Sims 4 may see fewer expansions next year, but new kits are on the way, and it’s likely that more new content is coming too.
That means new announcements about The Sim 5 are unlikely to come until until after the acquisition closes, but it’s possible that Electronic Arts’s buyers will want to start fresh and will restart work on The Sim 5 once they’ve taken control. Another possibility is that projects that are currently in development, like the upcoming Project Rene, will be positioned as part of a broader ecosystem rather than a direct Sim 5 replacement.
What’s Happening To The Project Rene?
In 2022, Electronic Arts announced that a new installment of The Sim, codenamed Project Rene, was in the works. Many fans reasonably assumed this project was The Sim 5 and thought it had been canceled after Electronic Arts confirmed they were not planning a Sim 4 follow-up anytime soon. Apparently, however, that isn’t the case.
Electronic Arts has confirmed they’re moving forward with Project Rene, but it’s not a new mainline game. In January 2026, Electronic Arts described Project Rene as a “social, collaborative, mobile-first life-sim game” and clarified that it is “not the successor to The 4th part.” Either way, fans have been asking for multiplayer for years, so the project could be a good thing. Since Project Rene is still in development, Electronic Arts’s new buyers may decide to take the game in a different direction and may even opt to call it The Sims 5.
A new entry in The franchise will have to deliver a strong single-player experience to keep fans happy, and a multiplayer-focused game like Project Rene may not be a good fit for the next entry.
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