EA delays The Sims 5 to protect decade’s worth of DLC content from The Sims 4

Electronic Arts (EA) is holding off on releasing The Sims 5, citing concerns over the massive amount of downloadable content (DLC) players have invested in The Sims 4 since its 2014 launch.

In a recent interview with Variety, EA president Laura Miele revealed that the company doesn’t want fans to lose the progress and content they’ve accumulated over the past decade. “What I wouldn’t want to have happen is you to have to start from day zero… and give up all of the content you’ve purchased,” Miele explained.

Since its release, The Sims 4 has introduced over 85 expansion packs, game packs, and kits — many sold as premium DLC. EA acknowledges that asking players to abandon these purchases isn’t “player friendly.”

Miele also emphasized that The Sims 4 is now “technologically strong” enough to continue evolving without needing a sequel. Instead of a clean-slate Sims 5, EA is shifting focus to spin-offs like Project Rene, a multiplayer project in development, and cross-media ventures such as The Sims movie, being produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap.

The film presents new opportunities to merge linear storytelling and interactive gameplay, potentially introducing its characters and themes into The Sims 4 through future DLC.

With the franchise celebrating its 25th anniversary, EA is opting for innovation through expansion rather than replacement — signaling a new era of transmedia storytelling for The Sims and other top EA titles.