It has been nearly five years since EA released the fourth installment in the Sims franchise: The Sims 4. This game completely changed the gameplay within the series, though many fans argue that the changes were not for the better. Complaints of expensive and incomplete packs have run rampant, and many fans have threatened to abandon the series altogether if these issues are not addressed.
Regardless of the naysayers, The Sims is still one of the most beloved simulation video games and some fans have begun to speculate on whether or not The Sims 5 will be released before 2020. Though the developers have been very secretive on the subject, many fans believe that there are several hints indicating the release of the next installment in the series. We have detailed and investigated some of those hints below.
10 The Releases Have Slowed Down
Though there are no exact numbers (as game releases are often adjusted and postponed for numerous reasons), it is clear to all who play The Sims 4 that the game pack release schedule has slowed down. Yes, there have been countless expansion packs coming out at a semi-regular pace, but The Sims 4 was released nearly five years ago and we are still missing basic game packs that come standard with previous installments of the game.
In recent months, the time between the release of each game pack has felt longer than ever before. Many fans have took this as a sign that the game developers are spending their time creating the fifth installment on the series. As some have said, though, it is probably a good idea to work on completing The Sims 4 before even considering announcing the release of a fifth installment.
9 New Packs Have Entirely Changed Gameplay
Fans of the Sims series know what they like, and sometimes they think that previous installments of the series did things better. Many fans believe that buying new packs is a waste of money when previous versions of the same packs (for earlier installments of the series) were better executed and more engaging. Therefore, many fans believe that the release of the Strangerville expansion pack/mini game was a way of recapturing interest in future games, by changing gameplay enough to ensure that fans would be rewarded with unique experiences (if they stayed faithful to new releases).
Why is this important? Well, creating a new base game is expensive and fans would not be likely to purchase a pack if they feel cheated by the series itself. Perfecting The Sims 4 and making sure that fans feel listened to and respected could be their way of ensuring an audience for the upcoming fifth installment. After all, no one will buy the fifth game if they are still sour over the fourth one.
8 The Fans Are Getting Restless
The fans want new content and they will not be happy until they receive it. If you’ve made the unwise decision to take a peek at the comment section below any Sims news in the past year, you’ll have seen that every single comment is basically demanding the release of the Witches and University packs. The fandom will not be happy with The Sims 4 unless these two are released.
With the current release schedule that was announced via Twitter, many fans believe that these long awaited packs will be released as the last additions to The Sims 4 (as the fandom has made it obvious that they will protest the fifth installment of the series if these packs are not released for the current game.) If these packs are released within the next 12 months, it could very well be a sign that the end is near.
7 Almost All Standard Packs Have Been Released
With the exception of a few unique additions to every installment, each main game in the Sims series has been followed by (more or less) the same group of expansion packs before the release of the next base game. University, Late Night, World Adventures, Supernatural, Pets, and Seasons are established and standard game packs that have become expected staples to each base game since the second installment in the series.
To date, all but University have been released for The Sims 4 (World Adventures and Supernatural have not yet been released in full but elements of both games have carried over to The Sims 4). Since they are running low on standard packs left to release, some fans believe that that is an indication that The Sims 5 is on the horizon.
6 Internal Role Changes
According to a post on the Sims community site, there have been a few noteworthy internal role changes at The Sims head office.
Normally, this sort of thing would be nothing to gawk at, but as detailed in the post itself, these sort of personnel changes and internal role shuffling tends to occur around the time of the release of new installments in the Sims franchise. Though the fans may be grasping at straws with this news, it is hard to deny that these role changes have accompanied new games before.
5 Gurus Have Announced An Exciting Year Ahead
In a tweet shared by one of the Gurus (who provide constant updates to the Sims community), fans were assured that this would be a great year for the Sims series.
Since the fandom has been exceptionally split on the fourth installment of the series (with some dedicate Simmers accusing it of being far too expensive for the limited content we have received in each pack), some fans believe the tweet was indicating that a flurry of content will be released for The Sims 4 (which was confirmed in a tweet by another Guru). Others, meanwhile, took this as a hint that the fifth installment is on its way.
4 We Have Not Heard Much News
Unless a player is completely plugged into all Sims Guru twitter accounts and their official twitch channel, there has not been much news since the release of the Strangerville pack in winter 2019.
Sure, we have heard that some expansions and game packs are on the horizon and received a free update which added the freelancer career to the game, but those updates are nothing ground-breaking. Many fans believe that the lack of information is due to the fact that the team is simply working on putting out the last few packs for The Sims 4, so that they can announce the fifth installment in the series.
3 Technology Has Improved
It is no secret that graphic design and rendering tech has improved vastly since the first Sims game was released. The same can be said since the release of the last base game in the franchise. In the nearly five years since The Sims 4 was released, graphic and rendering technology and techniques have improved beyond our wildest dreams. The game and previous installments are starting to look and feel rather dated as a result. Many fans have come to the conclusion that some of the more frustrating limitations of The Sims 4 have yet to be resolved because EA may plan on addressing them in The Sims 5.
2 They Have Been Seeking New Designers
Many Simmers have noticed that Maxis has been looking for new employees. These job postings were shared on the Sims Community site and many fans have speculated that these new jobs were created in order to help build the fifth installment in the series.
Since the majority of these jobs require people adept in graphic design and character rendering, many fans have decided that this is a sign that the fifth Sims base game is on its way.
1 It’s About Time
The first game in the Sims franchise was released in February 2000. The second installment in the series was released on September 14th 2004. The Sims 3 was released on June 2nd 2009. And the fourth (and most recent) installment in the series was released on September 2nd 2014.
Roughly speaking, there are approximately only four to five years between each installment. At the time of writing this article, it is currently five years since The Sims 4 was released. Based on their established schedule, The Sims 5 should be released within the next calendar year.
NEXT: Sims Team Announces Expansion, Stuff & Game Packs, New Careers, And More In The Next 6 Months
