EA has no plans for The Sims 5 as franchise expands beyond numbered releases

EA has said it will “move beyond linear, sequential Sims releases” as it sees the future of the series as more than one title.

Outlining its vision for the franchise on Tuesday, the company said it plans to create a number of new Sims experiences while continuing to support The Sims 4 in a big way.

The most recent numbered entry in the series was released 10 years ago this month and is played “by more than 80 million people”, according to its publisher.

“The way to think about it is, historically, ‘The Sims’ franchise started with ‘Sims 1’ and then ‘Sims 2,’ ‘3’ and ‘4.’ And they were seen as replacements for the previous products,” EA’s vice president and general manager of The Sims franchise Kate Gorman told Variety.

“What we’re really working with our community on is this a new era of ‘The Sims.’ We are not going to be working on replacements of previous projects; we’re only going to be adding to our universe. With that, you’ll see there are more ways to experience ‘The Sims’ on different platforms, different ways to play, transmedia, and lots of great offerings within this universe.

“So absolutely, we’re still continuing to support ‘TS4’ more than ever. Still continue to deliver expansion packs and updates and fixes. But what this is to say is, the way we’re going to do things going forward is a little different. And it’s really exciting and it’s really the most expansive iteration of ‘The Sims’ yet.”

“What this means is that we will continue to bring HD simulation experience and what people would want from a ‘5’ — but it doesn’t mean that we’re going to start you over, reset all your progress, and really feel like you’re going to lose all of that amazing play you put into ‘4,’” Gorman added.

“I think as we think about the future of it, we want you to continue all of those families and generations. Those creations are your progress, your attachment. We don’t want to reset your progress. And so it’s not about as much of what the numbers are in the games, but know that