The Sims: Project Lotus Paused, Potential Mainline Entry in Development

Maxis and Electronic Arts have halted all work on Project Lotus—also known as Project Rene—a mobile-oriented The Sims title—in favor of what could turn out to be The Sims 5.

The announcement arrived alongside a wave of other EA reveals in a blog post titled “Building EA’s Next Chapter,” which also carried the disappointing news of BioWare’s shutdown after more than 30 years of game development.

Project Lotus ‘pauses’ development

Project Lotus is on hold. Image via EA

Project Lotus, previously called Project Rene, has been in some stage of production since at least late 2022. While players had initially hoped it would serve as a direct follow-up to The Sims 4 as another mainline entry in the series, Maxis later clarified that the game would instead be a free-to-play multiplayer title built around mobile. The online response to that news was, to put it mildly, far from enthusiastic among fans of the franchise.

Now EA is changing course, writing, “We’re focusing on the long-term potential of The Sims.”

“We’re going to prioritize our efforts on ‘Project Evergreen’ for The Sims to give the team more time to reach the full potential and vision for the game, and to help make this possible, we’re pausing development on ‘Project Lotus.'”

What is Project Evergreen?

The Sims 4 has endured for over a decade with steady content updates. Image via Electronic Arts

There is no official word from Maxis or EA on exactly what Project Evergreen is. The development of a straightforward sequel to The Sims 4, which launched more than 10 years ago, has proven surprisingly complicated, with Sims Community reporting that the game has been referred to internally more like The Sims 4: 2 than The Sims 5.

In more encouraging news, the project is reportedly expected internally sometime around next September, so new The Sims content may arrive for eager fans sooner rather than later. It is also very good news that The Sims is moving away from a mobile game and toward a more conventional mainline entry.

The Sims 4 has remained strong for over a decade, but a next-generation installment on the horizon is among the few pieces of good news to emerge from today’s announcement.