It's no secret that The Sims franchise is a cash cow for EA, and will likely continue to be for the foreseeable future. Expansion packs, stuff packs, and various other add-ons have long been a staple for adding new content to The Sims 4, though most of it doesn't come free, of course. Many loyal fans have spent absurd amounts of money to keep their game up to date, and according to EA, this is something they absolutely want to take into account when planning the series' future.
In an exclusive interview with Variety, Laura Miele, EA's President of Entertainment, had this to say about the future of The Sims:
"What we're doing is upgrading and refreshing all this technology, and we'll be adding modes of play — but we also are going to be creating and updating the base technology and the base user experience on the core game."
It has previously been revealed that EA plans to introduce some form of multiplayer to The Sims 4, although what that will actually look like remains unclear for now. She continued:
"So you're going to have this life simulation, you're going to have multiplayer capabilities, we are going to have mobile expressions of this. We're doing cosy games as well and more to come on that. We did a release with Nintendo on cosy games in Asia for 'The Sims.' I see 'The Sims' as a significant ecosystem, and a universe of multiple 'Sims' experiences that we have to build on."
Many fans have voiced their disappointment over the departure from the natural progression of the series, namely, a direct sequel (The Sims 5), but Miele insists this is the right path forward.
"What I wouldn't want to have happen is you to have to start from day zero and start from scratch and give up all of the things that you have created, give up all of the content that you've purchased over the years. We put out over 85 content packs over the last 10 years on 'The Sims 4,' and so resetting that is not player friendly and not a good idea for our community."
Traditionally, the Sims series has started fresh with each new instalment, but according to Miele, EA now wants to move away from that model to preserve what the community has built. A proper Sims 5 is starting to feel more and more distant. Later in the interview, she also shared thoughts on the Sims movie currently in development, which, notably, has Barbie herself, Margot Robbie, attached to the project.
"Where we sit today, from a technology perspective, innovation perspective, we are in a moment where we can actually co-create content and be a multiplier for each other and have these great experiences for fans. It's going to be so full circle and so fulfilling to bring content in a linear way and an interactive way, simultaneously, and even have it adapt to fans and how things are going. When we have a couple of ideas about how we would go to market with a movie and a couple of different expressions, I just think the opportunity is so ripe."
EA clearly has a lot of irons in the fire when it comes to The Sims, but The Sims 5 is still nowhere in sight.
Do you think EA is heading in the right direction?