Variety reports that EA will keep The Sims 4 ongoing, while also exploring ways to ensure that players' progress carries over to its eventual successor.
The Sims 4 is the longest-running entry in the series, and has accumulated over 1.22 billion hours of gameplay. General Manager Kate Gorman said Maxis doesn't want players to start all over again when Sims 5 they are eventually released.
He explained how each Sims game has historically existed as a “replacement” for the previous one. Instead of continuing that trend, Maxis is taking a more “yes, and” approach, and will “add to our universe” in different ways.
“You’ll see that there are more ways to experience The Sims across different platforms,” he said.[That means] different ways to play, transmedia and many fantastic offers within this universe. […] The way we do things in the future will be a little different.”
Part of these “different ways” includes Maxis bringing online multiplayer and player-made creation kits to The Sims 4 and supporting it “more than ever”.
With regard to Sims 5, EA has previously referred to “Kidney Project” as the future of the franchise. Rene will receive a small invite-only playtest this fall and players will “join friends and others in a shared location.”
EA's future plans for The Sims 4
The Sims' last attempt at multiplayer was with The Sims Online in 2002, which closed its doors in 2008. Gorman said that EA has “learned a lot” from that game and that it is aiming to create a “very social, real-time multiplayer environment” for The Sims 4.
“We’re exploring what that means and what that might look like,” he said. “We know that simulation is at the core of everything we do, and we want to make sure that our players still have the experience they want, but in a world with real players and NPCs.”
Regarding creation kits, he said that player-created content will be sold in-game, and its creators will be compensated for the work sold.
You can read EA's full plan for the future of The Sims Here.