The Sims 4 released all the way back in 2014, and in the nearly a decade since, we have seen many trends come and go from the video games industry. One practice which seems to have stuck is that of the free-to-play game. It seems as though EA will be adopting such a monetary method for the upcoming The Sims 5.

As discovered by the fansite ‘simscommunity.info’ a new job listing for Head of Monetization & Marketplace at Project Rene (The Sims 5’s codename) heavily suggests that the upcoming management game will be free to play, with some of the listing’s responsibilities reading as follows:

“Own Project Rene's in-game marketplace of content and [user-generated content] (free and paid), and manage a data-informed player-centric player purchase journey – maximizing value to players, optimizing player spend patterns, and minimizing player churn. 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.”

More than 8 years after its initial release, The Sims 4 went free-to-pay – though of course you would still need to purchase all the expansions separately. It is likely that The Sims 5 will adapt a similar approach, assuming the current Sims 4 model has proven successful.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this possibility? Will you try The Sims 5 on day-one? How should The Sims’ monetisation be structured? Let us know down below.

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