EA's next big release in the Sims series, The Sims 5 (codenamed Project Rene), has fans eagerly awaiting for any information they can find. After its official announcement at The Behind The Sims Summit last year in October, details have been scarce, with only rumors and job listings hinting at the possibility of it being a free-to-play game.

We've had a sneak peek at a few early features of the game, such as the exciting prospects of cross-platform play and the ability to share your builds with friends confirming both singleplayer and multiplayer modes for the game.

But here's an exciting development – EA has confirmed that unlike Sims 4, the upcoming Sims game will be completely free to download, with no core subscription plans.

In an exclusive interview with VGC, Lyndsay Pearson, Vice President of Franchise Creative for The Sims at Maxis Studios, revealed an important detail. Project Rene is planned to be a "free-to-download" game, and Pearson emphasized their commitment to keep it free from core game purchases or energy mechanics. This approach aims to make the game accessible to a broader audience.

According to Pearson, Project Rene won't be as fully fleshed out as Sims 4 at launch, which is understandable since Sims 4 has been receiving major content updates since its 2014 release, accumulating 8-9 years' worth of paid DLC.

Pearson assured that Project Rene won't follow the same path, but it won't be entirely different either. They plan to gradually introduce more content over time to ensure players have new experiences. From the looks of it, unlike Sims 4, they aim to strike a balance, providing sufficient content for free-to-play (F2P) gamers while maintaining incentives for microtransactions.

She also gave a theoretical example of the weather system. Before we get into the example, it is worth knowing that in Sims 4, weather is not a core gameplay mechanic but an optional DLC pack that you must buy to experience all seasons.

However, in Project Rene, Pearson hinted at the possibility of including basic weather as part of the core game for free, which makes sense as the weather is a dynamic natural event. When it comes to microtransactions, Pearson mentioned the idea of packs for purchase, possibly focused on winter sports, including activities like "ice dancing or snowman-building competitions."

This implies that the core systems like the weather system in Project Rene will be free, but additional features or activities related to it might be available as purchasable packs.

EA also confirmed that the game is still in the early development stages but promised to invite players for early access testing. Pearson added that Maxis Studios will share details on the multiplayer mode in the upcoming year.