More than 8 years after the initial launch of The Sims 4, EA and Maxis revealed what’s next for the popular life simulation series. Code-named Project Rene, this game is in early development, and EA plans on looping players in on the state of the game throughout development as they have with skate. (as it styles itself) and Dead Space.
EA teased the new game during the Behind The Sims Summit livestream, which reflected on the series’ history, and also teased upcoming DLC content for The Sims 4, The Sims FreePlay, and The Sims Mobile. Still, the final announcement of Project Rene was the highlight of the show, and we even got an early look at gameplay. Not only is there a clear visual improvement over The Sims 4, but Project Rene also includes new features like being able to change the shape of objects you are placing in the game and create with friends in the same space no matter what platform you are both playing on.
We didn’t actually see any Sims in this footage, but those who enjoy the interior designing that the game enables will appreciate the early look. Still, VP of Franchise Creative for The Sims Lyndsay Pearson hinted at the overall vision of Project Rene when introducing the game.
“This is the future of The Sims, built on a foundation of charming Sims, powerful tools, and meaningful stories,” Pearson teased. “This future requires us to stay true to what The Sims has always been while pushing to evolve how those Sims think and behave, to push tools even further when creating and customizing, and to explore innovative ways to not only tell stories but to collaborate on those stories or creations with your closest friends across your favorite devices.”
EA did not detail all of the specific platforms Project Rene will come to, but we did see the game running on PC and mobile during the showcase. The game is “years away,” so a specific release date or window was not shared, but we’ll learn it in due course as EA continues the open development process with this game.
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