EA has confirmed that The Sims 5, officially called Project Rene, will be free to play, like The Sims 4. It’ll also exist alongside The Sims 4, with the company having no plans to abandon that title and its expansions, not yet at least.
However, if free-to-play sets alarm bells ringing, there’s reason to be hopeful. As explained in a recent blog, The Sims 5/Project Rene won’t have energy mechanics.
Energy mechanics often crop up in mobile games and some PC and console based free to play games. EA’s own Dungeon Keeper mobile game is infamous for this. You set tasks going and your choice is to either come back a few hours later or pay, using items bought with real currency, to skip forward.
But that won’t be happening in The Sims 5. If this title ends up following The Sims 4’s format, the base game will be completely free and you’ll instead pay for expansion packs. The Sims 4 isn’t exactly bare bones but the expansions offer a range of new mechanics that make for a more interesting experience.
There’s still no date for The Sims 5, as it’s still in development but we’re definitely looking forward to it. Just as long as our vampires don’t standing in the sunlight, gawping. We’ve never forgiven The Sims 2 for that.
