The Sims 5 described as “free-to-enter” in job listing

A recent job listing for developer Maxis Studios featured wording that suggested The Sims 5 will adopt the free-to-play model.

Revealed as the tentatively titled Project Rene in October 2022, The Sims 5 has yet to truly enter the spotlight. This isn’t too surprising, though, given that the project was in the early stages of production at the time of its announcement.

Fortunately, developers have already promised to soften the blow of the long wait by sharing updates about the work-in-progress.

But one crucial detail is already starting to make the rounds, thanks to a job posting that teases the game’s potential monetization practices.

The Sims 5 might be a free-to-play game

A post on Sims Community notes that a job listing (since removed) for Maxis Studios mentioned a free-to-play experience. The posting indicated Maxis was on the hunt for someone to fill its Head of Marketplace & Monetization role for Project Rene.

The following bullet point especially stood out beneath the “Responsibilities” section (bolding added for emphasis): “Own pricing of all content in this free-to-enter game, ensuring we have an optimal pricing and content architecture. Provide guidance to content teams on in-game content needs to meet player demand.”

Apparently, the development team is building Project Rene from the ground up with free-to-play in mind.

EA

The “Responsibilities” section also mentions an in-game store, which – if implemented – will feature developer-made content and user-generated content of the free and paid varieties.

As the Sims Community post points out, an in-game storefront could mean players would be able to purchase and download digital items from the game itself.

Given the way in which EA and Maxis continue to support The Sims 4, the free-to-play model for Sims 5 makes the most sense. How exactly it may all play out remains to be seen, though.