The Sims 4, Project Rene, “Next Evolution” and more confirmed for 2026 development!
EA and Maxis have just revealed The Sims Franchise Roadmap for 2026 development – and beyond. The team took the opportunity to clarify the rumors as stated two weeks ago when the rumors about the next generation single player Sims experience titled Project X surfaced online.
In the first part of the roadmap, EA and Maxis assure their consumers that their values will remain unchanged towards The Sims Franchise values and commitments. Possibly in response to the news about Saudi Arabia’s PIF, Jared Kushner’s Silver Lake and Affinity group buying Electronic Arts for $55 billion. Which resulted in a good chunk of Sims creators announcing their departure from the EA Creator Network.
The latest Roadmap also teases a next Expansion Pack which seems to feature a “crown” in its photo. Possibly resembling the latest leak about The Sims 4 Royalty & Legacy being the next Expansion Pack.
Maxis has revealed in the latest roadmap all about their commitments to The Sims 4, Project Rene – which is now a mobile-first experience, and talks about the “next evolution” for The Sims Franchise. Including new game experiences and single player commitments.
I don’t know about you, but the part about “next evolution” sounds very much like the talks we’ve been getting recently about Project X!
Check it all out in the official 2026 roadmap blog below:
The Sims Franchise Roadmap for 2026
Table of Contents
Sul Sul, and Happy New Year Simmers!
As we kick off 2026, we’re excited to take a moment to share updates on what the team is working on for The Sims this year. But first, we want to start with what matters most–the values that have always shaped The Sims and we share with many of you.
The Values of The Sims Are Unchanged.
The Sims has always been more than a game. It’s a canvas for life in all its unpredictable forms…the chaotic moments, the tiny joys, the big dreams, every identity, every version of you. And, thanks to you, The Sims has grown into something bigger than we ever imagined: a living world bursting with creativity, expression, humor, chaos, and heart.
Our Sims team’s creative control, guided by our values of inclusivity, choice, creativity, community, and play, has not changed. These values inspire the decisions we make each and every day as we plan for today, tomorrow, and the future.
The Sims will always be about life, your way, and you can read more about our values here:
The Values of The Sims
For more than twenty-five years, The Sims has proudly been the game that refuses to play by rules. Instead, we bend them, twist them and…when inspiration hits… flip them completely upside down. Our worlds have always embraced the offbeat, celebrated the edges, and obsessed over the tiny details that make life…life.
From day one, our values have been the foundation behind every choice we’ve made. They have guided every risk we have taken, every feature we’ve created, and every truly wild story our players have brought to life. They reflect our vision for this franchise and the passion of the teams around the world that have built, and are still building, The Sims.
As we step into 2026 and beyond, we want to reaffirm the five values that sit at the heart of The Sims.
Creativity: The Sims is a canvas for imagination.
- We build tools that awaken the artist, architect, and storyteller in everyone.
- We celebrate ideas from the bold to the mundane and the wildly imaginative space in between that make our world shine.
Play: The Sims thrives on play.
- We embrace the surprises, the plot twists, the happy accidents and the small moments that snowball into epic stories.
- We protect experimentation without consequence, because some of the best stories come from turning mistakes into moments of magical delight.
Choice: The Sims is defined by decisions.
- We create systems that give players meaningful control over every detail, big or small.
- We empower players to steer lives and worlds in any direction they imagine.
Inclusivity: The Sims is for everyone.
- We reflect the wide, colorful spectrum of identity and self-expression so every player feels seen and celebrated.
- We build features that let all players create the Sims they feel connected to, and explore their identities, without judgement.
- This work never ends; we continue learning, growing, and finding new ways to make every player feel seen.
Community: The Sims is a community-driven game.
- We support the players who shape our worlds through their stories and creations, building a shared culture.
- Together, individual creativity becomes something shared and spectacular. That’s what makes The Sims community the best community in games.
As we continue building the future of The Sims, our team’s creative control, guided by our values of inclusivity, choice, creativity, community, and play, has not changed.
And at its core, The Sims will always be life, your way.
Happy New Year, Simmers. Here’s to a fantastic, imaginative, off-the-rails 2026.
What We’re Working On: The Future of The Sims includes Experiences across PC, Console, and Mobile
The Sims is at its best when everyone can play in the way that feels right to them. Whether you’re here for storytelling, building, or seeing what happens when free will takes over, you’ve shown us just how imaginative you truly are. We want to meet that creativity with room to grow.
That’s why we’re building a family of new Sims experiences across PC, console, and mobile. Each experience carries the heart, humor, creativity, and lore you love, while introducing its own world, focus, and way to play. Every experience will stand strong on its own. And together, they open up a larger world of possibilities. We’re excited to share more about what we’re cooking up…as we’ve all learned from The Sims – a good grilled cheese takes time (and no fires!)
We are committed to single-player life simulation experiences.
At its core, The Sims was built on a deep, single-player life simulation, chock full of rich systems, meaningful storytelling, and player agency that puts you in control. That foundation isn’t going anywhere. We’ll continue to deliver content and updates to The Sims 4 and we are committed to improving the experience.
Single-player PC and console experiences will always be a part of our future, with more than half of our global development team dedicated to The Sims 4 and the next evolution. More news in the coming months!
Project Rene has evolved into a social, collaborative, mobile-first life-sim game
Thanks to ongoing player feedback, Project Rene has evolved to focus on social multiplayer play, offering a more direct way for friends to share creativity together. It is not the successor to The Sims 4 and is a separate experience from any future deep, single player life simulation experience. It introduces a new way to explore and play together within the growing Sims family of games, welcoming Simmers who want to connect directly with other players.
Playtesting Continues across Multiple Sims Products and Experiences in 2026
Building The Sims is an ongoing collaboration with our players, and in 2026 you can expect to hear more from us as we continue playtesting new ideas and experiences.
Through limited market tests and The Sims Labs, you may encounter a variety of early builds and prototypes. These tests are works in progress with experimental game features, concept imagery, naming conventions (The Sims Labs: Life Together, The Sims Labs: Town Stories) and ideas in motion. Some concepts evolve and sometimes an experiment won’t move forward at all. That’s a normal and important part of how we build The Sims, by finding the fun early, together.
The Heart of It All: You
Looking ahead, our focus is on the next era of The Sims. It is one we aspire to build with you, because The Sims has always been at its best when players help shape what comes next.
For decades, you’ve made The Sims what it is, a world that spans generations and cultures, filled with joy, surprises, emotions, and stories that stick with us long after the save file closes. Now, we’re building the future the same way we built the past, with creativity, bold ideas, curiosity, and you as our partners. The Sims is, and has always been, all about you – uniquely you. And as a result, unmistakably The Sims.
What are your thoughts on the latest Sims Franchise Roadmap for 2026? Let us know in the comments down below and stay tuned for all the latest Sims News on Sims Community!
Uhm. Exactly what did they confirm? They used a lot of words to say nothing lol. Not even the rumours of the Sims 4 coming to end are being addressed. We knew everything already what is said in this.
It is precisely because they do not clarify, because they do not deny it, that it is accurate, or you see, the end of the sims 4 is false, we will bring many more EPs and superb content throughout 2026, nowhere, the article on the evolution concerning 2026 alone answers your question.
Right. I’m still confused and left in the dark!
There’s an EP, the last one in the Sims 4 franchise, a few kits, and updates in 2026. Then there’s Project X; that’s what they mean by evolution. This person doesn’t need to put you down for that; there’s nothing confusing. They haven’t denied the end of The Sims 4 because they don’t want to ruin their communication about it. They’ll do that when they announce Project X.
What I really want to know is, will there be an actual sims 5 single player to continue the franchise as it always was or will they just continue the single player with sims 4 updates and call it a day?
They have mentioned lots of times in 2025, that sims 5 is cancelled. They will not be doing a sims 5. So it’s either sims 4, or project Rene
I confirm first of all that this concerns 2026 and not the next years, and that the next evolution will indeed be project x (provisional code name) planned for the end of the year if there are no delays in the development of the game, and as I confirmed to you, the crown represents the last EP of the Sims 4, the very last of the Sims 4 franchise.
You’ve said more and less than the official announcement, and still full of lies and speculation.
This is not an official announcement, but what will happen in 2026 is that I have always confirmed that royalty was the last EP, and that Project X was planned afterward. The article does not contradict what I have said; at no point do they say that the end of The Sims 4 is false. The Sims 4 will be supported with kits and updates while waiting for the new game. The article on the evolution of The Sims is very clear. You simply do not accept the end of The Sims 4, and there’s nothing I can do about that.
I lied when I said the theme of the last expansion pack was royalty and Africa, NO. I lied when I talked about Project X and its release, NO. A job posting confirmed it. EA’s communication is simple, avoiding details so as not to lose credibility regarding the promotion of the next major expansion, stuff packs, and updates. You thought they were going to tell you, “We’re stopping The Sims 4 now”? They’ll do it when Project X is released. I say this because a friend works at EA and that’s what he told me. The leaks confirm it. I gain nothing from this, except that we need to prepare for the end of The Sims 4. Anyway, the engine is dead, major expansions cost too much to produce, and the game is obsolete; the year will prove me right. This will be my last comment. See you at the end of the year.
I’m perfectly fine with Sims 4 ending, even if a few special sets and updates are released this year. I just hope the final expansion pack has plenty of content that regular Sims can use in their everyday lives. I’m thinking of things like ballet, the hairdressing profession, or parrots as pets.
Oh no, Tommy! Please, tell me more about X! Do you know when they plan to announce it?
You are so untrustworthy. You always repeat leaks that have already been leaked by others, to try and gain credibility while making vague, nonsense statements that contradict each other. You are not a leaker, just a speculator.
Still don’t understand what the hell is going on. We’re stuck with the static worlds, limited building space, limited creativity. Not even a create a world tool. This game is stale AF! I play historical so the new EP will be great, just more distractions. No real game changing features or additions like tools, etc.
I haven’t updated since before the stupid Spongbob spamming, and I see no reason to update now. Still laggy, still slow, still limited!
so freaking confusing not even a statement can clarify it, at this point just call the Project X The Sims 5 and call it a day
Damage control
Bro…..
What?
damage control
noun
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
“our values remain unchanged: we will still give you mediocre
gameexpansion packs and kits until the end of all life on earth!”This makes no sense. Why put out a final EP and then end Sims 4. Why would anybody buy it and it sounds like a money grab. What about those of us that like playing single player games. As a veteran of second life, I have no interest in interacting with other players. So those of us that have been here since Sims were dots are out of luck. Way to treat loyal players and cut your customer base.
to be fair, they have always put a last EP before the release of the next game. They were hinting The Sims 3, in The Sims 2 Free Time! (And Apartment Life came after that)
It seems like it pretty much confirms the leak.
There is indeed a new single player game being developed as successor for Sims 4. There is indeed a royalty themed last EP (unsubtly hinted at). They say Sims 4 will keep getting content, which means that last EP and then a bunch of kits there and there, until their new single player is fully launched.
Project X will either be called Sims 5 or simply The Sims. It would be too costly to educate and market others with any other name. Sims 4 is broken, we all know that from playing. And the game is old. If they were smart they would have the new game include weather, seasons, spiral staircases, pools, and cars. I’d be happy with a colour wheel so furniture matches. Yes we might have mismatched furniture in real life but guess what the we could go to a furniture store and buy a set that matches! The same should be for the games.
Why are you obsessed with spiral staircase lol. They aren’t even mandatory.
Okay now the sims team has my interest
So the Sims 4 isn’t ending? I don’t want it to end as there is still highly requested packs/content that needs to be added.
What I would HATE, Is spending ALL this MONEY on expansions, packs, kits and whatever to build the game up JUST for it to become obsolete here in the near future. WHY not just give what everyone has been asking for… give an update to make SIMS an “open world” with working vehicles that we can see ho from one destination to another instead of a blue screen. Please don’t make us feel like we wasted our money and time believing in you.
Because the game engine can’t support open worlds, cars or other wanted things. It is too old and lacks the necessary features. If they update the core engine then it’s a new game and that’s why it’s Project X.
This basically just reads as “We’re not ready to announce much just yet, but some of you misread the rumors as us ending the whole Sims franchise for whatever reason – we’re not doing THAT…”
What a total word salad.
This gives the same energy as corporate trying to do damage control after saying no bonus, no raise… but hey they’re still committed to their employees in some vague generalized unexplained way after proving they don’t listen to what anyone actually wants and they don’t care.
Sorry not sorry. I haven’t played the sims in YEARS! it’s been broken for to long Inzoi stole my heart. And 800 plus hours already. lol. 40 dollars for even more then the sims has and it ain’t even fully released yeah I ain’t going back….
They’ve done so many iterations of these weird mobile Sims games (Sims Social on FB, whatever the current Sims game on mobile is) and they definitely have an audience but I’ve never really heard anyone say they desperately wanted a massively multiplayer Sims.
I like the idea of being able to have multiplayer with 1-2 friends to collab but I like to heavily mod my games and that’s not really conducive to the on-the-rails kind of multiplayer EA wants to move towards. Idk. Kind of hoping that some of the alternatives end up panning out.