Is The Sims 5 Cancelled? (Project Rene & Cancellation Rumors Explained)

A rumor claims has 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-gen game that many consider synonymous with — was officially confirmed to exist back in 2022. It was only in the earliest stages of development back then, and news on Project Rene has 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 suggests might'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 of franchise. What those are is open to speculation.

The Sims 4 has more features than one can shake a stick at, so players can be forgiven for having misconceptions about some of the game mechanics.

The LinkedIn page of a character artist claiming to have worked on may suggest the project has been canceled, according to screenshots posted to X (formerly Twitter) by Berkay 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, "."

Of course, this could refer to any number of things. Perhaps it's just the PS5 port of that'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 to ' proprietary engine or something similar. But the thread goes on to list a series of layoffs at Maxis, suggesting that the future of has indeed undergone some changes.

Considering the dearth of news around the next game, this is a concerning development. It's only worsened by the recent cancelation of , a competing life sim game under development by dev Paradox Interactive. Of course, it's highly unlikely as a series is going anywhere. It's one of EA's most popular (and