Speculation about a new Sims game is heating up after the FY2020 earnings call for EA when CEO Andrew Wilson was asked if the company had any thoughts on reviving The Sims Online, or something similar. His reply was far less evasive than usual and implied that features from the past online game will be coming back in the future.
The Sims is about to turn 20 and many Simmers thoughts are turning to what’s next. With The Sims 4 now the longest-running installment of the franchise, it leaves many wondering where the game is heading. Will we get Sims 5? Another spin-off like Sims Medieval? Something else entirely?
For those new to the franchise, The Sims Online was a massively multiplayer online variant of The Sims with a subscription fee. It ran from 2002 until 2007 before it was rebranded as EA Land. The game survived for a year after that before closing down. While many loved the title, it had some major issues, including the crippling of the player-controlled economy, after users exploited a bug that essentially allowed them to “motherlode.”
Wilson begins by discussing The Sims 4’s current state, talking about its focus on “inspiration, escape, creation and self-improvement.” He also mentions how social interaction and competitive elements aren’t currently in the title. These elements are listed as he goes on to acknowledge the growing community and its desire for interaction and also competition, in the form of sharing creations.
There are definitely hints about online play of some kind, with Wilson stating, “as Maxis continues to think about The Sims for a new generation – cross-platforms and a cloud of a neighborhood world, you should imagine while we will always stay true to our inspiration, escape, creation, self-improvement, motivations – that this notion of social interactions and competition like the kind of things that were actually present in The Sims Online many many years ago – that they will start to become a part of The Sims experience in the years to come.”
So ,it looks like that multiplayer version of the game that we wanted may not be out of reach after all. You can read a transcript of the full answer over on Sims Community.
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