One thing to look ahead to: Maxis simply revealed just a few new tidbits about Undertaking Rene, which some have known as The Sims 5. It confirmed rumors concerning the recreation being free-to-play, hinted on the studio’s plans for monetization, and informed us why we should not be calling it The Sims 5.
On Tuesday, The Sims developer Maxis confirmed rumors from June that the subsequent Sims recreation, codenamed Undertaking Rene, can be free to obtain and play. It can additionally not depend on a scammy vitality system that limits your play time except you purchase vitality (taking a look at you, Sims Cellular). The core recreation will probably be fully free with no subscription.
In a cringe-worthy “Behind The Sims” presentation clearly geared towards the tween demographic (beneath), Vice President of Franchise Artistic Lyndsay Pearson hinted that Undertaking Rene would undertake a monetization mannequin just like the continued Sims 4 improvement.
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“We imply for Undertaking Rene to be free to obtain,” Pearson mentioned. “And that implies that when it is prepared and totally open to our gamers, you can be part of and play and discover Undertaking Rene with no subscription, with out core recreation buy, or vitality mechanics.”
The VP mentioned that improvement can be supported by promoting DLC. She shortly talked about that gamers would nonetheless get some content material without cost however that there could also be extensions to free DLC that might come at a worth. As an example, the devs could introduce a climate plug-in without cost whereas charging for associated playable options like ice skating or snowball fights. Pearson was considerably imprecise about it, however monetization continues to be an element Maxis is ironing out.
One factor that Pearson did clarify, although, is that Undertaking Rene just isn’t The Sims 5. Maxis plans to launch Undertaking Rene – or no matter it finally ends up being known as – alongside The Sims 4 and assist them each independently.
“Undertaking Rene and different Sims video games, together with The Sims 4, will coexist for the foreseeable future,” Pearson defined. “It means Undertaking Rene just isn’t getting down to exchange your present superior Sims experiences.”
The Sims 4 is already a DLC money cow, and that won’t change within the speedy future. It’s what’s funding Undertaking Rene’s preliminary improvement. As soon as it’s up and operating, Maxis and EA could have an extra indefinite income stream working on the identical franchise.
Pearson burdened that Undertaking Rene’s final purpose is to current a unique technique to play The Sims. Nonetheless, she did not share any contemporary particulars, as a substitute selecting to reiterate what we already knew. The sport will assist multiplayer and cross-platform play. The constructing system can also be being fully rebuilt, which is great. The Sims 4 has so many choices now that constructing, furnishing, and adorning your dwellings is daunting for anybody who has not advanced with the sport from launch.
Regardless of the ultimate title and product is, it will likely be welcomed by followers who haven’t seen a contemporary entry within the 23-year-old franchise for over 9 years (except for the crappy Sims Cellular from 2017). Sadly, there may be nonetheless a technique to go on Undertaking Rene. When Maxis introduced it final yr, it was in very early development and several other years from launch.