It’s time to get hyped because The Sims 5 has recently been gaining more and more traction as rumors have continued to swirl in regards to the games release date and even potential new features.
Having launched over seventeen years ago, the world famous franchise – which was initially a very different idea – has since gone on to sell over 200 million copies worldwide – ranking it as one of the top selling franchises of all time.
However, due to the rather lacklustre performance of The Sims 4's initial base game, it would come as no surprise that many fans of the franchise have since moved on to bigger and better games. That may be all about to change though as - according to several reliable sources - The Sims 5 may see the return of several fan favourite features that have been missing since the third installment to the series.
While the majority of the rumors are yet to be officially confirmed by EA and Maxis, it is fair to say that despite the poor initial sales of The Sims 4, The Sims 5 is well on its way to hitting our shelves in the coming years. That’s right, The Sims 5 may actually be closer than we think.
So in saying that, get excited because here are 10 mind blowing rumors and 5 must have features that are sure to drag you back into the world of The Sims franchise.
15 Rumor: One Of The Most Beloved Features Is Set To Return
The open world format of The Sims 3 was undoubtedly one of the best features to have ever been introduced into The Sims series, so when fans found out that the beloved feature wasn’t included in its successor, The Sims 4, they were rather shocked. Unlike most developers, when a feature is removed another will usually take its place for the betterment of the game. This wasn’t the case for The Sims 4 as the open world format was replaced with a much smaller, close knit neighbourhood that has frequent loading points when traveling.
However, things are set to change in The Sims 5 as rumors have swirled that the series is set to reintroduce the fan favorite feature in hopes of trying to rectify the poorly made changes that are riddled throughout The Sims 4.
14 Rumor: The Customization System Will Receive An Overhaul
I think we can all agree that the general consensus on The Sims 4's customization system, is that it is rather poor. Of course, with that in mind, it is disliked by many fans within the community. The system itself isn't terrible, but it isn’t very good either. The Sims 4 have essentially built upon The Sims 3’s system and made it much more user-friendly and added a new layer of freedom when designing your characters.
However, like many features of this installation, the developers – for some strange reason – decided to remove a vast majority of the customization options. This has profoundly limited the characters in terms of fashion choices and material. Luckily though, rumor has it that The Sims 5 will return with a new and improved version of the customization system – adding more unique choices for the player to choose.
13 Must Have: Major Adjustments To The Games Time Accuracy
It is without question that the time accuracy within The Sims series is one of the most frustrating features within the game because let's be real, who takes a 45-minute shower or even an hour and a half to eat breakfast.
While it is understandable that some of these activities do take quite some time to complete, The Sims just manages to completely blow these times out of proportion - making daily tasks more of a chore than a fun and simple activity.
The issue of time accuracy isn’t a recent one as it has actually been around since the beginning of series and while tthe developers have attempted to combat this issue, they have still yet to perfect the right amount that it takes to complete these simple activities. While we are not sure how Maxis plans to fix this issue, it would be nice to see this system overhauled in The Sims 5.
12 Rumor: Bikes & Vehicles May Be Set To Return
You heard correctly – bikes and vehicles are rumored to be making a much-anticipated return to the neighborhoods of The Sims 5.
Arguably, bikes and vehicles are one of the best features to have ever been introduced into The Sims series as it added a depth of freedom that fans were yet to experience. The removal of this feature was a shock among the community as it was easily one of the most praised features of The Sims 3. While nobody currently knows why EA removed the vast majority of The Sims 3 features, you wouldn’t be wrong to think that EA will be trying to redeem themselves when it comes to The Sims 5.
While this is yet to be official confirmed by EA, it would fit in perfectly among the currently rumored features that are set to return – especially the open world format.
11 Rumor: VR Could Be On The Horizon For The Sims 5
That’s right. The Sims 5 may very well be playable in VR! According to the rumor, a post was made on Reddit asking fans if they were ready to Live in the world of The Sims – unfortunately, the post was quickly deleted but not before some fans were able to get a quick glimpse at the post.
While this information is just a rumor, it will be interesting to see how The Sims will play in VR – would this new playing style open up the game for a first person mode, or would it still play in the traditional third person perspective. This would also undoubtedly see a large spike in VR sales as it is sure to appeal to a large audience.
Honestly though, I think we can all agree that the idea of The Sims 5 being VR-ready is pretty exciting and opens up a huge list of potential possibilities that will change how we play and experience The Sims series for.
10 Must Have: More Life Stages & A Better Aging System
This is one of those features that don’t really require an explanation if you have played The Sims before (or simply viewed the image above), you will quickly begin to understand why The Sims 5 is in desperate need of a brand new aging system. In The Sims 4, almost every life stage looks almost identical – see the image above for further proof.
To make matters worse, the developers took several years to finally introduce Toddlers into the base game of The Sims 4 – something that many assume would be originally included in the game upon launch.
Fans would also like to see a better aging system that includes more life stages – with many claiming that it is must have feature should they wish to expand on the realism of the series.
9 Rumor: The Sims 5 May Release In 2019
Rumor has it that The Sims 5 may actually be hitting our shelves over the next two year as the current rumors suggest that The Sims 5 is currently in early development and is set to release in 2019.
While EA is yet to confirm this rumor, it would actually make sense for the series to release during this time period as The Sims series has often kept a fairly even release schedule. Since the release of the series in the year 2000, EA has managed to release a new Sims game every four to five years – The Sims 2 arrived in 2004, The Sims 3 released in 2009, and The Sims 4 landed in 2014.
Given this information, it is easy to believe that the rumor of a new Sims game in 2019 is highly likely.
8 Rumor: The Lack Of Sims 4 Content Could Mean The Sims 5 Is Already In Development
It’s no secret that The Sims 4 is lacking in a number of core features – especially when it comes to expansion packs. With almost three whole years having passed since the launch of The Sims 4, fans are still eagerly awaiting a large number of expansion packs that seem to be missing from the game – namely, the Pets expansion.
While videogames do usually take quite some time to develop, fans are quickly beginning to lose patience – with many left wondering why exactly there is such a wait for extra content when The Sims 3 had already received this content well before the three year mark.
This has caused a rumor to surface that EA is indeed working on the next installment of the series. Given that The Sim 4 is under performing, it would make sense that EA is trying to cut their losses and is attempting to move on to bigger and better projects – The Sims 5, should it be developed correctly, could be the answer to this problem.
7 Must Have: Pets
Fan can finally rejoice as, after three long years of waiting, The Sims 4 will finally be receiving the much anticipated and highly popular Pets expansion pack – something that many fans were beginning to lose hope on.
Should The Sims 5 see the light of day, Pets will be one of the must have features within the series and should be considered as one of the first expansion packs to be released after the launch of the game. Many have even considered the three year wait for expansion as utterly ridiculous would even go as far as to argue that basic pets such as cats and dogs should be included in the base game as pets are generally considered as part of the family anyway.
6 Rumor: It Will Be A Vast Improvement On Previous Games
Many wouldn’t be surprised to find out that The Sims 4 hasn’t performed as well as EA and Maxis had initially planned. The developers of the series have even chosen to speak out about the financial crisis that threatens the series – and as it turns out, the next installment of The Sims relies solely on the success of the fourth game.
A fifth installment to the series seems very likely as the game has picked up quite a bit thanks to the recent number of successful expansion packs. Sources close to the series have revealed that The Sims 5 will see a vast number of improvements to the current features, along with new items and even features that the series is yet to see – it’s no surprise that EA and Maxis want to return the series to its roots.
5 Rumor: The Sims 5 May Never Even Be Released
Let’s all be honest, when compared to its predecessor The Sims 4 – simply put – sucks. This is primarily due to the fact that not only is the game missing a number of essential features that have previously been included in the base game, but it is also missing the core features that made The Sims 3 such a great addition to the series. Given the current state of The Sims 4 and the significant amount of backlash the game has received, it should come as no surprise that The Sims 4 is struggling to financially.
Due to this very reason, The Sims 4 producer – Grant Rodiek – revealed the fate of The Sims 5 in a community forum, stating that The Sims 5 solely relies on the success of the fourth installation and should the game perform poorly we may finally see the end to the iconic franchise.
4 Must Have: More Freedom When It Comes To Customization
If you have played The Sims 3, you will understand just how many features are missing from the Create a Sim process within The Sims 4 as – given it has added a few decent features – it really seems like a step backward in terms of creativity and uniqueness.
One of the must have features that needs to be introduced into The Sims 5 is more customization options when creating your sim, as gone the days of having the choice to select unique colors, patterns or even creating your own clothes. Ever since the launch of The Sims 4, there has been a constant outcry by fans wanting the return of these features.
At the end of the day, players want to be able to edit every aspect of their Sim – whether it is the height of their Sim, their hair styles, tattoos or even the color and pattern of their clothing.
3 Rumor: Improved Graphics & Performance
Given that EA and Maxis are looking to incorporate Virtual Reality into The Sims 5, the game will need to be vastly improved upon its predecessor. Given how VR works, The Sims 5 will not only need to look great - it’s very unlikely that the series will go backward in terms of graphics – but it will also need to run at a steady framerate to ensure that it is suitable for the Virtual Reality Headset.
This particular rumor may appear to be the most straight forward one yet, but should you have been keeping tabs on the gaming industry of late, you will be well aware that some games just simply don’t perform as well as their predecessors – we’re looking at you Mass Effect. So here’s hoping that the rumor of improved graphics and performance actually proves to be true.
2 Rumor: More Building Items Than You Can Ever Imagine
One thing that the developers did manage to get right in The Sims 4 was the building system that was featured within the game. This feature was not only extremely easy to use, but it was also loaded with a bunch of new features that made the overall building process just that much more personal. It made the player feel as though they had the freedom to truly design their Sims dream homes.
So when rumors started to circle that The Sims 5 would feature more building items, you can just imagine how excited the fans were as these new items could simplify the building process even more. While these rumors are yet to be officially confirmed, it’s exciting to know that The Sims 5 may potentially have the power to create some of the most visually stunning homes players are yet to see.
1 Must Have: More Features In The Base Game
When it comes to discussing games that have delivered an excellent array of base game features, The Sims 4 is one of those games that instantly pops into your mind – but for all the wrong reasons. While The Sims 4 did deliver on a number of cool features, the game – when compared to previous installments in the series – had a rather poor performance when it came to giving fans a terrific base game experience.
As of recent years, it has become unsurprisingly clear that The Sims 4 is heavily reliant on the release of DLC Expansions and Stuff Packs when it comes to content. Although we understand that adding this extra content – clothes, technology and general household items – will cost Maxis more of their base game budget, it would definitely see an increase in overall purchases. This change could see a surprisingly sharp increase in sales as many are beginning to see the series as a mere cash grab.