This year Sims 4 celebrates its 7th birthday and with the release date of Sims 5 is set to late 2021, it’s time to look back and think about what we want from the next Sims game. Eager Sims fans have worked hard to make things better, introducing lots of new content and fixing bugs, but they still have a long way to go. It was hard to overlook in The Sims 4 how things felt scaled back from previous entries in the series, even as some features were implemented in the form of content patches emulating the post-launch.
The Sims is a PC and Mac game and with the way the timeline is evolving, we wouldn’t be surprised to see future versions for consoles like the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 if they come out in the fourth quarter of this year. In the past, the Sims games included magical realms, mysterious new cities, and exclusive restaurants and bars. There is no idea what The Sims 5 Game Packs will offer, but expect the game to offer the same kind of variation.
Frequent releases of expansion packages help to plump up the life of Sims games and breathe new life into them. The Sims gurus release several packs (expansion packs, game packs, small-item packs, and large DLC) that introduce new professions, pets, and other interesting content. Even the most ardent Sims fans are busy going to the gurus and asking them to fix a number of bugs in the game.
As it stands, there is now no concrete information on The Sims 5 but we can assume that at the beginning of its life it will be on the PS5 and Xbox series X, which is longer than previous The Sims games. The Sims 4 which came to PC in 2014 has been available on consoles since 2017 so you should be prepared for a significant gap when porting the PC version to consoles. Typically, a The Sims game is first available on the PC, then revised for consoles and other systems.
EA has been careful to keep Sims 5 in check and has committed to 20 new content dropouts and expansion packages for Sims games on PC, mobile, and console during the Sims 4 fiscal year. The newest expansion pack The Sims: Eco Lifestyle expands your Sims environmental concerns, while the EAs Stuff Pack focuses on knitting. Expansion games and events have also been released for The Sim 4, indicating that EA and Maxis have plans to go beyond the current platforms.
The Sims 3 had 11 expansions that added new elements, such as the pet expansion and the University of Life expansion that helped to keep the game fresh and strong.
By March 2002, the first Sims game simply called The Sims, sold over 11.3 million copies and became the best-selling PC game in the history of that time. After seven expansion packages and two deluxe editions, The Sims was discontinued when Electronic Arts The Sims 2 was released in September 2004.
Sims 4 has a great start to the day, with the release of Discover University one of the most anticipated add-ons for Sims players. With 16 expansion packs, game packs, and a slew of stuff packs being released worldwide, it’s only a matter of time before EA pushes the next generation.
We live in an age where every game release is different from what players experienced a few years ago. In the first half of 2018 alone, the current game received a total of four huge expansion packages, five-game packages, and twelve cloth packages. With how little we know about The Sims 5 and without solid confirmation that the game is already made, we can only dream of a world in which someone listens to us at our request and we get a perfect Sims game without waiting for multiple DLC packs to fix it.
With so much speculation and fans wishing for a new game that will replace things and bring back some popular features like open worlds and cars, it’s hard to contain our excitement. EA has kept details under a tight lid on Sims 5, but from the facts and practical game plan of previous Sims games in the franchise, there are a few things we can deduce from that. Before the game comes out, we’ll take a look at some of the facts we know and what seems likely.
Eleven expansion packages and nine material packages have been released for the third generation of the series. Until January 2021, ten expansion packages, nine-game packages, and eighteen fabric packages for the fourth generation of Sims have been released. The next installment of the Ultimate Life Simulation series is in the works, and fans are hungry to know what’s next.
It is worth noting that the official Maxis Career website does not discuss anything about the next Sims game or the impact of The Sims 5 on the current development and publication of The Sims 4 as different teams are working on various projects on the site. As far as I know, nothing is 100% certain about the outcome of the last game, considering that the new team at Maxis is still working on various prototypes. As with Sims 4, there is a lot going on at the moment, and due to their immense posts in the forums, it looks like EA is more focused on the current game than on the new one.
Andrew Wilson, CEO of EAs, has confirmed that the final game will remain true to its core as it explores new ways to play The Sims. There is still a lot that we don’t know about The Sims 5 because it is still in development, but it will be interesting to see what Maxis has planned for the game.
