EA Maxis is still keeping mostly quiet about Project Rene, an upcoming multiplayer spinoff in The Sims series that we once thought would be The Sims 5, but a recent leak may reveal what it’ll look like — and fans aren’t pleased.
A new leak from Reddit user DzXAnt22, who had previously posted visuals and the map from an earlier Project Rene PC build, reveals potential new information on the game, which EA recently said in a recent giant The Sims announcement will be multiplayer-focused.
It’s worth noting that this data is from a recent mobile playtest for a very small slice of the game, so elements are likely to change. Project Rene is also still in the alpha stages of development, and the images are likely not a great representation of what the final product will look like. Still, they give players an idea of what EA Maxis is working on in regards to the multiplayer Sims spinoff.
🚨 LEAKS 🚨
🆕♂️♀️ The new screenshots of Create your Sims have been published, this time it is Create your Sims.#TheSimsProjectRene pic.twitter.com/tLixCaHwsr
— Like Life Sim (@LikeLifeSim) September 29, 2024
In this playtest, participants weren’t given the option to create a Sim, although it is apparently coming to the program at a later date. They had to choose between various outfit and Sim presets, which you can see in the X (formerly Twitter) post above.
People on Reddit and X reacted negatively to the screenshots. One user said they looked like clay figures, while another said it was “the ugliest artstyle I’ve ever seen in a game.” It does look a lot less detailed compared to previous Project Rene leaked images, but again, this is a game still in development, so we can expect art and other aspects to improve over time.
The leak also includes Google Play Store descriptions for something called The Sims Labs: The Hub, which DzXAnt22 believes is tied to Project Rene. (The Sims Lab is EA’s name for its playtesting incubator.) It reveals players will be able to explore a Parisian neighborhood in multiplayer. They can get new outfits by getting a job at a cafe or completing quests to earn currency, explore and discover collectible secrets, and “make your wishes come true at the plaza fountain.”
Elements from previous playtests, including a build mode, were not around this time, but players got to explore and complete quests, such as getting something to eat, around town.
EA Maxis is set to expand the reach of The Sims franchise with a number of games that use The Sims name but feature different gameplay. In a post, EA mentioned wanting to experiment with “cozy games” and “mobile narrative games.” It also announced it would continue to provide updates to The Sims 4, which it hopes will be its live-service forever title, and experiment with multiplayer.
