Insider Gaming reports that the highly anticipated The Sims 5 might launch as a free-to-play game from the onset.
As reported by Insider Gaming, a job listing for ‘Head of Monetization & Marketplace’ has come up for Project Rene. Project Rene is the apparent working code name for The Sims 5.
The job listing further explains that the successful applicant will “Own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game, ensuring we have an optimal pricing and content architecture.”
The Sims fans were possibly anticipating this, and some might have even been looking forward to it. The Sims 4 launched as a paid retail game, but fans were not happy with what they felt was not enough content and polish to justify the full retail price.
For the past eight years, developer Maxis set to work on releasing DLC packs for The Sims 4 alongside updates and bugfixes. Those DLC packs also received criticism from fans, because of the incomplete state that they were received in.
This was definitely the case with the comparatively recent My Wedding Stories DLC, which came out last year. Because this DLC was released with bugs, it wasn’t even possible to go through with the in-game weddings it promised. This also stands as the lowest rated of their DLC.
Now, EA decided to make The Sims 4 free-to-play later in that year, in October 2022. This was particularly relevant because they had made so much DLC that it was enough to make the game profitable without charging for the base game.
So, EA opened up The Sims 4 for anyone to play for free, and those who could afford it would promptly buy some DLC.
EA would obviously not be blind. Even now we see the launch of games like Disney Dreamlight Valley, technically in Early Access state, but very much playable and published across consoles as well as PC.
It’s well known that the free-to-play model is very lucrative for developers. However, this might be a business model that is best suited for The Sims as a franchise.
In contrast to Colossal Order, who has taken a few years in between Cities Skylines releases, Maxis is facing higher expectations from parent company EA to deliver.
Maxis also has to look out for their ever loyal and addicted fans, who have kept buying content and playing even as they have criticized what the studio has put out.
Now, as a live service game, Maxis could reorient the way they make The Sims 5 completely. It could similarly launch, like Disney Dreamlight Valley, as playable but with not that much content. Expectations would be lower with an Early Access label and an inherent expectation that the studio would keep improving the game for its lifetime.
The Sims 5 could also shift from the current paid DLC monetization model, to a Season Pass model, as Disney Dreamlight Valley has been successful with so far. That’s how important this job opening is to The Sims and its future.
