Gameplay of EA's New The Sims 'Concept' Appears to Leak Online, and It's Not Going Down Well With Fans

A video purportedly taken from the adjacent iteration of The Sims has popped up online, and fans person expressed their interest astir what it whitethorn mean for the much-loved series.

Project Rene - the codename sometimes utilized interchangeably with The Sims 5, though EA maintains Project Rene is, successful fact, a spin-off task - has been bubbling astir for a fewer years now, but aboriginal entree footage from a crippled entitled "City Life Game With Friends" has galore players reasoning that this could good beryllium the adjacent Sims game.

The video itself is simply a afloat 20 minutes agelong and shows the subordinate clicking done substance prompts to prime their outfit, hair, watch, activities, and truthful on. He past spawns into a sunlit Plaza de Poupon wherever helium buys immoderate nutrient and mingles with the locals. He aboriginal goes to enactment successful the outdoor café.

Characters are intelligibly called Sims passim the playtest, speech successful Simlish, and are adorned with The Sims' tell-tale Plumbob.

"I americium terribly disappointed with Project Rene. Yes, I know, according to EA, 'this is not the last game.' Is this a gag oregon what?" said 1 unhappy subordinate connected The Sims' subreddit connected a station entitled "I deliberation Project Rene is simply a redflag (I anticipation not)" that has been upvoted hundreds of times.

"EA intelligibly wants to termination disconnected mean Sims games and propulsion radical toward the mobile-style experience. So successful their mind, a reboot virtually means this — astatine slightest that’s what I THINK."

"This is not going to beryllium for me, I tin archer already," said another. "It conscionable seems truthful basal and I don't privation to play The Sims connected my phone."

"The comic happening is, making a PC/mobile cross-compatible Sims crippled isn't a atrocious idea," posited a fan. "EA conscionable believes that mobile games HAVE to beryllium disfigured for immoderate reason. They're chasing each of the plan trends of the past decade, but it means that this happening already looks dated and it's not adjacent retired yet."

"The mode The Sims was a virtually [sic] satire astir capitalist suburban consumption-as-happiness.... And this is wherever the Sims ended up. Endless consumption-as-happiness," suggested another.

Project Rene — the codenamed crippled initially thought to beryllium The Sims 5 until EA distanced itself from those rumors — was archetypal teased successful 2022 during a Behind the Sims Summit. It's a free-to-play Sims crippled that features multiplayer inspired by Animal Crossing and Among Us. It hasn't yet been formally revealed oregon received a merchandise date, but EA has been holding small, invite-only playtests for the crippled since its announcement, with the game's latest playtest presumably spawning these caller leaks.

The sanction Rene was chosen due to the fact that it references words similar "renewal, renaissance, and rebirth" that "represent the developer's renewed committedness for the Sims' agleam future."

Last October, however, images of Project Rene leaked from a closed online test, prompting complaints astir the creation style, constricted features, and the usage of microtransactions. It was the summation of a café that drew the astir skepticism, chiefly owed to the smiliaries to 2018's The Sims Mobile. It was past that EA said Project Rene was not The Sims 5 but would, successful fact, beryllium a antithetic "cosy, societal game" released nether The Sims franchise.

Don't hide that The Burglar, a acquainted show for those of america who've spent clip with immoderate of the older Sims games snuck backmost into our lives arsenic portion of the latest update for The Sims 4.

Vikki Blake is simply a reporter, critic, columnist, and consultant. She's besides a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her astatine BlueSky.