What is Project Rene? Details on the upcoming ‘The Sims 5’

During an Oct. 18 livestream event called Behind The Sims Summit, The Sims developer Maxis revealed quite a bit of information about the future of the simulation franchise. The biggest announcement came in the form of Project Rene, which Maxis vice president of franchise creative for The Sims Lyndsay Pearson revealed with a fair amount of fanfare.

Project Rene is being touted as the next generation of The Sims. While it’s still several years away, Pearson revealed that Maxis and The Sims publisher EA will share plenty of additional information over the course of its development. So, just what is Project Rene, and what impact will it have on The Sims?

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Here’s everything you need to know about Project Rene.

Project Rene details

Project Rene is the codename for the next main-series title in The Sims franchise. This means that, yes, it will likely end up being called The Sims 5. While the project is still extremely early in development, Maxis is already making bold claims about how it will move things forward for the series. In particular, the developer is implementing cooperative play, meaning players can design houses and explore other features of the game together.

This is a big step forward for The Sims, a series that has always been about sharing your creations with the community but has kept its “campaigns” largely single-player experiences. Project Rene will still support single-player play, of course, but Maxis appears to be inviting in a new audience that is used to robust online and multiplayer features in their games. The game will also support cross-play, meaning players can move seamlessly between platforms and maintain their progress no matter where they choose to play.

It also looks as though Project Rene will usher in a much higher level of creativity thanks to its robust customization tools. During the Behind The Sims Summit, viewers were treated to footage of a player adjusting the shape of the headboard on a bed, changing the texture of its blankets, and adjusting the layout of throw pillows on a sofa. The Sims is known for its creative sandbox potential, but it seems Maxis is taking decorations in particular to entirely new heights.

Not much else is known about Project Rene at this time, including its release window or anything about character customization. EA and Maxis are sure to share more information down the road as the game progresses in development, but it will be a long time before we see the game in its entirety.