EA has revealed that Project Rene, a next-generation Sims title that many are speculating to be The Sims 5, will be free to play when it’s released. Maxis, the developer behind the popular life simulation series, elaborated on the project in a new blog post that it shared yesterday, clarifying that the game will coexist with other Sims titles and won’t replace The Sims 4. The base version of The Sims 4, which was released all the way back in 2014, became a free-to-play title last September.
Project Rene will be a new way to play The Sims – it will feel “Simsy” as players will still manage what their Sims do throughout their day, while also presenting gameplay choices differently. With Project Rene, we want to do things from the start that The Sims hasn’t ever done or try to do familiar things in a new way!
Project Rene and The Sims 4 will exist side by side. We will continue to support both at the same time and will plan to bring more exciting content to The Sims 4 community for the foreseeable future.
Project Rene will be Free to Download. This means that when Project Rene is ready and fully open to players, you will be able to join, play and explore it without a subscription, core game purchase or energy mechanics. We want playing to be super easy for you to invite or join friends and experience new features, stories and challenges.