Summary
A rumor claimsThe Sims 5has been canceled, but it’s difficult to say just how much truth there is to it. Although it’s been rumored to exist for a while now, Project Rene - the working title for a secretive, next-genSimsgame that many consider synonymous withThe Sims 5- was officially confirmed to exist back in 2022. It was only in the earliest stages of development back then, andnews on Project Renehas been scarce ever since. But it’s generally assumed to be under wraps while it goes through the normal development cycle.
However, the latest information suggestsThe Sims 5might’ve quietly been canceled in recent days. The rumor is unsubstantiated, but internal goings-on at developer Maxis are concerning, and definitely point to changes in the future ofThe Simsfranchise. What those are is open to speculation.
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A Developer’s LinkedIn Page Suggests The Sims 5 Might Have Been Canceled
Layoffs Reported At Maxis
The LinkedIn page of a character artist claiming to have worked onThe Sims 5may suggest the project has been canceled, according to screenshots posted to X (formerly Twitter) byBerkay Bademoğlu. The screenshots show a series of credits attributed to an unknown developer, whose name is cropped out. At the top of the list is a credit reading, “The Sims 5Unreal Engine 5 for PS5 (Cancelled).”
Of course, this could refer to any number of things. Perhaps it’s just the PS5 port ofThe Sims 5that’s been canceled, and the game will still come out on PC. Maybe it’s just the use of Unreal Engine 5 that’s been canceled, and the devs have switched back toThe Sims' proprietary engine or something similar.But the thread goes on to list a series of layoffs at Maxis, suggesting that the future ofThe Simshas indeed undergone some changes.
Considering the dearth of news around the nextSimsgame, this is a concerning development. It’s only worsened by therecent cancelation ofLife by You, a competing life sim game under development byCities: Skylinesdev Paradox Interactive. Of course,it’s highly unlikelyThe Simsas a series is going anywhere. It’s one of EA’s most popular (and presumably, most profitable) games, especially factoring in the astronomical cost of its countless content packs. But that points to another worrying possibility.
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With a wealth of downloadable content available for the series' current installment, includingthe upcomingLovestruckexpansion,some players have speculated thatThe Sims 5has been canceled so EA can continue releasing content packs forThe Sims 4. It’s been a decade to date - what’s another five years? That’s supported by the original Tweet thread, in which Bademoğlu claims to have seen several developers report a departmental move from Project Rene toThe Sims 4back in April.
That could be disastrous forThe Sims 4, completely disincentivizing new players from picking up the game. In its current state,it costs $1,194.23 USD to buy all the content forThe Sims 4. Of course, not every player needs to buy every content pack, but even so, buying enough to unlock all the gameplay features is prohibitively expensive. That’ll only get worse withLovestruck, and even worse if there are more expansions after that.
Many players are longing for a fresh start. Even if it means fewer features, and leaving their originalSimshouseholds behind, they hoped the nextSimsgame would provide it. Thankfully,there may still be a light at the end of the tunnel, and it all comes down to a game of semantics and a confusing naming convention.
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Project Rene Still Seems To Be Ongoing
EA Still Has Job Listings Open For The Sims Successor
But regardless of what’s happening toThe Sims 5and its PC port,Project Rene still appears to be under active development. Job listings are still open onEA’s career pagefor the title, so it’s clear that at least oneSimsproject is still in the works (or someone at EA forgot to update their job listings). The problem is that no one, except those actually working on it, knows exactly what Project Rene is.
It’s understandable to associate Project Rene withThe Sims 5- when one hears “next generation Sims game,” and the previous one wasThe Sims 4, it’s only natural to tack a one onto the numbered entry and call it a day. However,there’s never been any official confirmation that Project Rene is actuallyThe Sims 5. In fact, all signs point to it being something else. After all, if Project Rene andThe Sims 5were one and the same, why have a working title at all?
Many, including the poster of the original thread, have come to speculate thatthe canceled project wasn’t actually Project Rene, but an unannouncedSims 5. If that were the case, maybeThe Sims 5would have been a console port running on the Unreal Engine, while Project Rene was eventually destined to become a more malleable, moddable PC release running on a custom engine.
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Butwhat that means for the future ofThe Simson consoles is unclear. The projects may have merged, orThe Sims 5may have simply been canned in favor of Rene. Perhaps the cancelation of a separateSims 5means that Project Rene will simply be available on all platforms, much asThe Sims 4is today. Or perhaps it means Project Rene will be a PC exclusive, at least for a time, much asThe Sims 4was.
The Sims 4first came out for Windows PCs in a staggered, regional release throughout September 2014. It took until the following February to come out for macOS, and until August 01, 2025, to come to consoles.
If nothing else, it’s worth noting that the rumors remain unsubstantiated. None of this has been confirmed, denied, or even addressed by EA. The original set of Tweets was worrying, but for all intents and purposes, it seems Project Rene is still on. It may still be a few years away, but there is a successor toThe Sims 4in the works. It just might be a few years until it comes out. The world may never seeThe Sims 5, at least not in its original form, but it looks like the series is here to stay.
