'The Sims 5' Rumor: Game Might Not See The Light of Day as EA Shifts Focus on Mobile Development
"The Sims 5" might not be coming anytime soon as the team behind the simulation game franchise is putting greater focus on mobile development.
According to SimsVIP, Electronic Arts has laid off members of the Maxis staff who worked on "The Sims 4," with some brought in to help develop "The Sims Mobile."
One of the people who was let go is "The Sims 4" game designer Daniel H, who has been one of the most active "gurus" of the game in social media and has been on the team for a long time. He took to Twitter to announce his departure from the studio.
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"Hey, all. Looks like my time at Maxis is up. I've enjoyed my time working on 'The Sims,' and it's been an honor to be able to contribute to the game that you know and love. It's also been a pleasure to be able to meet and interact with so many of you," he tweeted.
SimsVIP also goes on to say that more gurus have also talked about their transfer to the mobile team, updating their LinkedIn profiles for major changes in their employment with EA.
It is unknown what this could do in the development of main "The Sims" series, but it is definitely big enough of an issue to question whether or not "The Sims 5" is happening.
"The Sims Mobile," which was released last March, is deemed a more lucrative project for the studio compared to the major installments being released on PC and the consoles, which is why they are tasking more people on expanding it.
Indeed, the mobile title made $2 million during its launch, and it is bound to make more as it progresses. If EA focuses on making it bigger, the game would likely be its most consistent money-maker.
At this point in time, "The Sims 5" has not been confirmed by EA yet, but it has been rumored and talked about for a while now. Looking at the pattern in which the games were released in, it is safe to say it usually takes five years for the studio to come out with a brand new iteration.
"The Sims 4" was released in 2014, so the expectation is that its successor will see the light of day next year. However, it is unknown if this will still be possible with a smaller team left working on it and the greater emphasis on "The Sims Mobile."
Even then, it is not like EA is done expanding the current title anyway. More downloadable content (DLC) is coming to "The Sims 4" later this year so the team seems to still be very committed to the title.
The developer could end up scrapping "The Sims 5" and just update "The Sims 4." That way, it will keep console and PC fans happy while still keeping their focus on the mobile side of things.
At the moment, however, nothing has been confirmed yet. Daniel H's announcement reveals that the layoffs are very real although there is no concrete indication yet on how it can change things for "The Sims 5."
