We’ve first reported back in September 2018 that Maxis has finally started working on a new Sims Title (or The Sims 5 as some might call it). The report came from Maxis’ official Career listings that offered job positions for talented Concept Artists who would help create The Sims 5’s first initial look. This is something that’s usually done in the first steps of creating a brand new video game.
Back then Maxis published several job listings including Environment Concept Artist, Character Concept Artist, Gameplay Software Engineer and more which all gave clear ideas that The Sims 5 has started with production. You can read more about those initial listings HERE!
Then, about a year later in 2019 we got more clues that Maxis is shifting the gears for The Sims 5 by making Grant Rodiek who was there for the full development cycle of The Sims 3 and The Sims 4 to a brand new Maxis project. All of our suspicions were fully confirmed afterwards by EA’s CEO Andrew Wilson who confirmed that Maxis is definitely planning a whole new generation of The Sims, with possible aspects of the game having both single player and multiplayer features.
With the brief history of what we know about The Sims 5’s development so far, we’ve got a whole lot of new information today regarding The Sims 5’s development from Maxis’ official Careers Listing website which opened up plenty of new job positions for the next Sims Game. One of the most interesting things that they’ve listed is the fact that the next Sims Game will be prototyped in Unreal Engine – a powerful software used by many game developers which helped bring many games to life. Some of those include Fortnite, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Final Fantasy and many more!
Now let’s clarify something – this doesn’t mean that the final product of the next Sims Game will be completely reliant on Unreal Engine. What this means is that Maxis is looking for folks who can bring the prototypes of The Sims 5 to life using C++, Python and Unreal Engine.
If you’re unsure what a prototype is, think of it as what The Sims 4 looked like in some of the leaked material from the game’s production. The developers were using a different engine to prototype various simulation features such as the graphics, objects, characters and the environment around them. You can check out some of the early prototypes of The Sims 4 HERE! Most of the 3D prototypes shown in the linked article have been created in the Unity software.
So what are the new job listings, who is Maxis looking for and what will the growing team for the next Sims Game be doing in the upcoming period? Check it all out in the listings that Maxis has published below. These are only a few of many that are available on the official Maxis Careers Website, but we’ve pointed out a few that talk about building a whole new coding infrastructure, prototypes, sim behaviors and well – a whole new Sims game considering that careers listing for The Sims 4 are marked as job opportunities for TS4 and not “for The Sims” in each of the offered job opportunity.
Before I sign off this post with the quotes from the Careers Listing note that this won’t impact the development of The Sims 4 at the time being considering that different teams at Maxis are working on different Sims Titles. The careers page also suggested that the new Maxis Austin studio might also be involved in the development of the next Sims Game – who we know is working on an entirely different IP video game (aka a whole new title that is not The Sims).
Software Engineer – Automation
Job Summary
Maxis is looking for a talented engineer that can amplify our ability to rapidly develop our games with the help of automation. This engineer will work with an experienced team that has collectively built almost all Maxis games in the past two decades. You will actively work with engineering, art, design, and quality verification groups to prototype and ship various features that expand the featureset of Sims games. Most of the work is expected to be done in Unreal Engine, both in C++ and blueprints.
As an Automation Engineer for a game at Maxis, you will
- Implement quality control tools, test automation and analysis systems for various stages in the creation of a Sims game.
- Enable the designers, producers, artists, and other engineers to build a framework that brings designs to life.
- Demonstrate excellent technical problem-solving skills under iteratively changing requirements during game development.
- Author technical design documents detailing software requirements.
- Be a critical partner to driving innovation in tools and processes to achieve the highest quality standards. Use appropriate programming and scripting languages to design, develop, and maintain automation test tools; statistical analysis and dashboards; and other tools that help drive quality in our products.
Software Engineer – Gameplay/UI
As a Gameplay Software Engineer on The Sims, your job will be to develop user-facing content for The Sims.
Qualifications:
- You will use Python, C++ and ActionScript 3 to implement data-driven gameplay and UI systems.
- You will create new Sim behaviors: interaction with the world, other Sims, and objects.
- You will build creative aspects of real life within a simulation game (e.g. socialization, careers, weather).
- You will work with designers, producers, artists, and other engineers on improving the data-driven framework that brings designs to life.
- You will write technical design documents detailing software requirements.
- You will build unique content for a game that supports a large demographic of simulation player patterns.
- You will write code with performance and memory usage in mind.
- Excellent technical problem-solving skills under iteratively changing requirements during development.
Core Engineer – Animation (C++)
High Level
Animation Engineer will work on the animation system subsystem within the game. The work will range from rapid prototyping to production development. Most of the work is expected to be done in Unreal Engine, both in C++ and Blueprints. Some prototypes and features may be done completely in C++.
Core Engineer – UI/UX
High Level
UX Engineer will work on UI and UX within the game. The work will range from rapid prototyping to production development. Most of the work is expected to be done in Unreal Engine, both in C++ and Blueprints. Some prototypes and features may be done with different tools and frameworks.
Senior Software Engineer – Client (C++)
As a Client Senior Software Engineer on The Sims, you will work on the client systems within the game. The work will range from rapid prototyping to production development. Most of the work is expected to be done in C++.
Job Responsibilities:
- Architect and implement client features and systems in C++.
- Extend existing client systems and create new ones.
- Work with designers, producers, content creators and other engineers to design and develop game features.
- Write technical design documents detailing software requirements.
- Write cross-platform code with performance and memory usage in mind.
- Debug code to document and fix bugs.
- Provide a mentorship to other engineers.
- Solve challenging technical problems in a dynamic environment to support active live service.
Client Software Engineer
As a Client Software Engineer on The Sims, you will work on the client systems within the game. The work will range from rapid prototyping to production development. Most of the work is expected to be done in C++.
Job Responsibilities:
- Implement client features and systems in C++.
- Extend existing client systems and create new ones.
- Work with designers, producers, content creators and othe
- r engineers to design and develop game features.
- Write technical design documents detailing software requirements.
- Write cross-platform code with performance and memory usage in mind.
- Debug code to document and fix bugs.
- Solve challenging technical problems in a dynamic environment to support active live service.