The last Sims game, The Sims 4, was released in 2014 – time for a new one?(Image: EA). It’s been a big year for The Sims gaming series, with it celebrating its 25th birthday earlier in the month. With the first Sims originally releasing on February 4, 2000, publisher EA has celebrated its legacy throughout the month – and it’s preparing for what could be a huge announcement next week.. Announced in a blog post last month, EA laid out all its plans for the celebrations, including a 25 hour livestream featuring celebrities such as Doja Cat, Latto and other online influencers. However, the part of the schedule that’s caught everyones eyes is the mysterious pair of eyes emoji on the date of February 25.. There’s nothing more to go off other than the mysterious emoji, but it could indicate that EA finally has something big to announce for the future of The Sims franchise. After over ten years of The Sims 4 being supported with expansion packs, it could mean that we finally get an update on Project Rene, the next Sims game in the series.. Project Rene was first announced in October 2022, pitched as the ‘next generation’ of The Sims, according to IGN. EA hasn’t explicitly referred to the game as The Sims 5, but it’s believed within the community to essentially be the next instalment of the popular life simulation series.. The publisher has teased the project several more times in the last few years, even going so far as to open up a playtesting scheme for the title. We’ve seen clips of early gameplay in developer showcases, but nothing that would hint at fully polished gameplay, never mind a release window.. EA is yet to confirm anything just yet, but with The Sims celebrating its 25th anniversary this month, the timing feels right to finally unveil more about what’s next for the series. We’ll have to keep an eye on The Sims social channels on February 25, so mark it in your calendars.. The roadmap for The Sims 25th anniversary event.(Image: EA). Over on Reddit, Sims fans are speculating as to what the emoji could mean. One gamer reckoned that it could have been teasing the re-release of The Sims 1 and The Sims 2, but when those surfaced earlier in the month it put those rumours to bed.. Article continues below. “Well the “Sul Sul” audio from TS2’s into animation played when it popped up,” writes the user. However, another player shuts them down, saying “It’s also a sound from the Sims 3 launch intro, not only TS2.”. Some pessimistic fans reckon the announcement could be regarding another expansion pack for The Sims 4: “They be playing with my TS2 feelings and nostalgia. Although, you’ll see, its another random TS4 expansion or something like that :(“. It’s true that The Sims 4 continues to see support, with the Business & Hobbies expansion set to release next month.. For the moment, all bets are off on what the February 25 Sims announcement could be. Whatever EA has to announce, we’ll be awaiting the news eagerly.
