Maxis has posted a bunch of new hiring offers for their next project. And even though The Sims 5 is a long way off, there is work to be done. The two job listings will bring on two high-level positions within the studio that will let the new staff help direct the direction of the new mainline game in the iconic simulation franchise.
We don’t know much about The Sims 5 yet, as it’s still a very long time away. A few things jump out in the job listings that give us some suggestions of what the game might have. “Knowledge in popular Sims Community mods and Custom Content would be ideal” is combined with a request for “familiarity with game streaming” to suggest that The Sims 5 will put a new spin on mods. And possibly, we could see new tools for content creators around the game as well.
Another element of the listing has some worried though that EA might push for a subscription-style service for mods or content. Monetization like this is a very slippery slope, so some users are concerned. Other big names like Bethesda have stepped on this landmine before, and a lot of people have little confidence in EA not to do the same thing again. And considering how aggressively monetized Stuff Packs and other addons are, a lot of users don’t want to pay more.
Other hints dropped by the team behind the game suggest a push for a multiplayer-focused game mode or model in future titles, this has not been confirmed.
The other of the two listings is for a “Senior CAS Artist to help establish the look and pipeline of our characters.” This would mean that the staffing push is to help build-out and refine the character creation tools for current and new games. Maxis has done a good job fleshing these out over the years, but there are still improvements to be made, mostly on the front of representation and more interesting color and decal choices.
The Sims 4 already managed to pump out tons of new content, and it’s mostly liked by fans. There are plenty of criticisms for the game that have come out—mostly in regards to the monetization and depth of addons and expansions—but things are relatively OK. The next stuff pack is coming soon, and is adding a bunch of paranormal stuff. You can become a Medium or a Paranormal Investigator. These kinds of things are pretty common themes for the series to tackle, so we’re likely going to see them come back in future games in some way.
We can’t confirm that stuff packs will be coming, or when. But the model has worked for EA and Maxis so far, why change?
