KEY POINTS

  • EA announced "The Sims 4" will be free-o-play starting October 18
  • It also said it will reveal more details about "The Sims" at its "Beind The Sims Summit" livestream event 
  • EA has not yet confirmed that it is working on "The Sims 5"

Electronic Arts (EA) will reportedly announce the highly anticipated next-generation "The Sims" game" sometime in October.

EA is believed to formally announce "The Sims 5," the latest iteration of its hit life simulation video game franchise at its livestream event in October, according to industry insider Jeff Grubb. "At this thing next month, they almost certainly will announce [The Sims 5] then," he said in "Game Mess Mornings.

Grubb was referring to the planned EA livestream event on October 18 dubbed "Behind The Sims Summit," which promises "what's in the works." Grubb, however, clarified that it might be just a formal announcement since the game is apparently still "very long ways off."

The Sims 4
"The Sims 4" was released a year ago, and publisher Electronic Arts created an infographic to celebrate. EA

The insider noted, "expect to hear about The Sims 5 soon, do not expect to be playing it soon. The game is still a very long ways off, apparently." If the insider's claim is accurate, it would appear that EA and Maxis are breaking the pattern of announcement for the latest "The Sims" series installment.

For instance, The team announced, that "The Sims 4" was announced on May 6, 2013, and was rolled out after a year and a half. The same happened to "The Sims 3," which was unveiled on March 19 20018 and was released in June 2009.

While Grubb has provided a stream of accurate leaks in the past, it is worth noting that this information about "The Sims 5" is not official. Fans should temper their expectations and take this latest claim as highly speculative at this stage.

Meanwhile, the "Behind The Sims Summit" is set to take place at 1 p.m. ET on October 18 and will be available via EA's YouTube and Twitch channels. The current generation series title "The Sims 4" will be free-to-play starting October 18.

"Beginning on October 18, 2022, The Sims 4 base game will be available to all new players to download for free on PC via EA app or Origin, Mac via Origin, Steam, PlayStation5, PlayStation4, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems," EA said in a recent blog post. The team also said it will continue to provide more DLC expansions in the future.

"With The Sims 4 going free to play, our team is more dedicated than ever to developing new and meaningful The Sims 4 experiences for our players and we will continue to develop and release packs, kits and Sims Delivery Express drops into the foreseeable future," the blog post read.

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