The Sims franchise has been an enduring pillar of the video game industry, consistently innovating new ways to breathe life into the two-decade-old series. Although The Sims 4 is almost a decade old, it is still receiving new content, with the upcoming Sims 4 Growing Together expansion pack introducing new companion content for the advent of the infant life stage. With the ongoing development of The Sims 5, however, comes the hope that features successfully received in The Sims 4 will become more prominent in future content. This is especially true for active careers, which should be a fixture of The Sims 5 and the standard for all careers.
The Sims has had a varied history with careers, as the mechanic is consistently one of the core pillars of gameplay. From the introduction of careers in the first Sims game to the introduction of active careers in The Sims 4: Get to Work, quite a bit has been done to elevate career progression in the past and future ways to make the content truly impactful and memorable for Simmers. While The Sims has a long history of including "rabbit-hole" careers in each game, it's time for the franchise to put aside this habit and reach for more ambitious depictions of work.
The Sims Franchise Has Been Hit-or-Miss When It Comes to Career Progression
Paid Sims DLC introduced the first active careers, with The Sims: Superstar allowing players to travel with their Sims to various workplaces. Future Sims games continued experimenting with dynamic career mechanics, with entrepreneurship-forward packs like The Sims 2: Open for Business and The Sims 3: Ambitions allowing Sims to catch ghosts and fight fires in real-time. Notably, The Sims 3: Ambitions' focus on providing a variety of active jobs - called "Professions" - was a smash hit with Simmers. Not only has the expansion pack remained one of the most popular packs in the entire franchise, but it also proved the enduring popularity of active careers.
The Sims 4 has faced an uphill battle compared with previous games, as removing the Sims 3 open world curtailed player freedom and active careers. Although Sims could still work from home or freelance, all jobs outside the home lot in the base game are rabbit holes. Given the advent of active careers in The Sims, it's surprising to see the Sims 4 only experimenting with real-time work mechanics in DLC expansions like The Sims 4: Get Famous. Active careers in The Sims 4 can come with additional technical issues. From glitched real-time tasks to constant Sim wrangling, there's room for improvement in The Sims 5.
The Sims 5 Should Include Only Active Careers In The Base Game and Future DLC
The career mechanics in The Sims have remained relatively similar across all base games. The career mechanic often functions as the primary way for Sims to make money, taking up a large amount of gameplay. Players can have their Sim choose from a set of careers - varying wildly depending on the base game - and then send their Sims to work, completing extra tasks and events along the way. Traditionally, jobs have been linear and relatively easy to achieve with time and the requisite skills. Unfortunately, in almost every Sims base game, careers are largely static regarding gameplay, with the player waiting until their Sims arrive home.
The Sims 5 should make the quality-of-life changes needed for Sim careers impactful. This could include making all occupations active to various degrees. Players could choose their Sims mindset around work, and every trade would have an optional workplace lot. It would be incredible for players to control chef Sims in a test kitchen, watch teacher Sims interact with students at school, or even experience the ever-enduring "secret agent" career path in real time. Given the rumored technical advantages of The Sims 5, there's seemingly no excuse for Maxis and Electronic Arts to expand a mechanic that has had enduring popularity with fans.
The Sims 5 is in development.