Highlights
- The Sims 5 has the opportunity to make a fresh start and address the series' shortcomings by rethinking its approach to the life simulation genre.
- The game should move away from paid expansions and focus more on cosmetic microtransactions and user-generated content to create a full-fledged experience for all players.
- By emphasizing user-generated content and allowing modders to sell their creations, The Sims 5 can keep its fanbase engaged and competitive in a market with new threats.
While it’s still unclear when gamers will get their hands on The Sims 5, whenever Maxis releases the franchise’s next entry it has a chance to give the series a fresh start. The few details revealed so far about Maxis’ Project Rene show that, whether it ends up being The Sims 5 as many assume, the acclaimed developer may be radically rethinking its approach to the life simulation genre, and this should carry forward to The Sims’ next entry. By learning from past mistakes and being willing to tinker with the franchise’s formula, The Sims 5 can address some of the series’ shortcomings and deliver something entirely new.
Since The Sims 5 will be a free-to-play game, EA can take the lessons it learned from The Sims 4’s switch to the popular business model to help the series’ fifth entry be the best one yet. Rather than following the same free-to-play formula it established with its predecessor, though, Maxis should reevaluate how it delivers content to players with The Sims 5. By moving away from the series’ long legacy of paid expansions and placing more focus on cosmetic microtransactions and user-generated content, The Sims 5 could deliver a full-fledged experience for all players regardless of their willingness to open their wallets.
Free Expansions for The Sims 5 Would Build a Community for the Online-Focused Sequel
The recent release of numerous free back-to-school items for The Sims 4 provides an example of how Maxis can approach adding new content to its upcoming sequel. Rather than simply adding a few free cosmetic items on rare occasions, The Sims 5 should strive to make most major content additions free to players. With The Sims 5 reportedly having a strong focus on online play, possibly even letting gamers share their neighborhood with others, making add-ons to the game free would avoid splitting the newly connected playerbase.
This expansion of The Sims 4’s free-to-play model would not only benefit players but also ensure The Sims 5 is profitable despite the loss of revenue from expansion packs. Rather than locking new content behind a paywall, The Sims 5 could put more emphasis on selling cosmetic add-ons to players. As shown by the success of Fortnite, plenty of players are willing to pay a small fee to customize their character in a game even if the changes are purely aesthetic. Limiting paid add-ons to cosmetic options would allow everyone to get the full The Sims 5 experience and potentially give the franchise’s vibrant modding community a chance to profit off of their hard work.
User-Generated Content Should Take Center Stage in The Sims 5
One way that Maxis could grow the community for The Sims 5 and keep the game financially viable even without reliance on paid expansions is by placing greater emphasis on user-generated content. The modding community for The Sims has done some incredible work over the years, and they should have the opportunity to profit from their creativity. By allowing modders to sell their content alongside official add-ons, Maxis could put a spotlight on these creators while taking a small percentage of the proceeds.
This increased focus on user-generated content could also help The Sims 5 stand strong in the face of new threats, with EA and Maxis set to have their biggest competition in the genre in years with the release of Paradox Tectonic’s Life By You. Since Life By You has made customization a central part of its early marketing, giving an equally increased emphasis to customization and player-made creations in The Sims 5 could help it remain competitive.
By switching to a new model for expansions to The Sims 5 and letting user-generated content take center stage in the game’s storefront, Maxis can keep fans’ excitement for its long-running series alive despite increased competition. And while any changes to the venerable franchise are likely to be met with some pushback, these tweaks to the familiar formula would ensure The Sims 5 is one of the series’ best entries yet.