EA has confirmed that The Sims 5 will be free to download

The Sims 5 will be «free to download», Electronic Arts has confirmed. The next-generation Sims game, officially codenamed Project Rene, was announced last October.

The Sims 5 will be free to download.

EA said at the time that it would feature both single-player and multiplayer gameplay, as well as the same experience on all supported devices, including mobile. A job ad posted online this summer described Project Rene as a «free-to-enter» game, as confirmed Tuesday by Lindsay Pearson, vice president of creativity for The Sims franchise at developer Maxis Studios.

The Sims franchise’s developer Maxis Studios.

«We plan for Project Rene to be free to download, which means that when it’s ready and fully open to our players, you’ll be able to join, play and explore Project Rene without a subscription, basic in-game purchases or energy mechanics» — she said in the video, which you can watch below.

Pearson noted that at launch, The Sims 5 won’t be as fully featured as The Sims 4, which has expanded significantly with new content since its release in 2014. The game’s announcement coincided with The Sims 4’s transition to free-to-play eight years after its original release. Six months later, in April of this year, EA said The Sims 4 «has more than 70 million players».

The Sims 4µhas more than 70 million players».