“Project Rene”
Based ona job listing posted by Electronic Arts, the next game inThe Simsfranchise may be free to play. According to the listing, developer Maxis is looking for a Head of Marketplace & Monetization for the newest entry toThe Simsfranchise (code-namedProject Rene). For reference, Maxis recentlyconfirmed via a post on the Electronic Arts BlogthatProject Reneis the next entry inThe Simsfranchise.
A couple of the responsibilities of this position indicate the game could be adopting a free-to-play model:
Plenty of paid DLC wouldn’t be new for The Sims
Anyone that has kept up withThe Sims 4should not be surprised by this news. Despite releasing almost a decade ago,The Sims 4receives frequent updates in the form of paid DLC. In fact,The Sims 4base game will become free-to-play at the end of last year. Existing DLC ranges from $4.99 for a collection of skins and furniture to $39.99 for a full-fledged expansion pack. However, without any sort of discount, someone wanting to experience all content will have to spend some cash. While there is plenty of content to explore, someone looking to play it all would spend well over $1,000.
Evidently releasing paid content forThe Simsis working, so it’s easy to see financially why Electronic Arts would make this decision.Project Renedoes not currently have a release date or window. However, Maxisrecently started playtesting the game in a closed setting, so we may hear more soon.
