Maxis is currently developing Project Rene, the next installment in The Sims franchise, leaving the future direction of the series uncertain. While The Sims 4 has successfully carved out its own identity with its distinct style and long lifespan, the franchise now stands at a critical juncture. The choices made during the development of Project Rene will likely redefine the core identity of The Sims, like The Sims 4 did with the series.
This lack of clarity is mostly due to the evolving nature of the project and what little Maxis is communicating about it. So far, it is a follow-up to The Sims 4 that is not quite a sequel, and an unconventional evolution of the series that isn’t quite a spin-off. To top things off, it may be a long time before Project Rene comes out. And although fans and Maxis can’t seem to answer (yet) what Project Rene is exactly or how it will stand out in the legacy left behind by other games, there is one thing that is for certain. To truly honor its predecessors, Project Rene should embrace the one element that defined the most memorable Sims expansions: weirdness.
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DLC That Captured The Sims’ Strangeness Perfectly
Some of The Sims’ most beloved expansions weren’t grounded in realism, they were steeped in the bizarre. But these popular Sims Expansion Packs and pieces of DLC actually back the fact that The Sims was never meant to be a strict life simulation. The series and its DLC have always leaned into chaos, embracing strange traits, stylized objects, and absurd scenarios that no other life-sim would dare try. When The Sims gets weird, it thrives. And if Project Rene is truly meant to build the future of the franchise, it should look backward—at the strange, wonderful expansions that built the franchise’s most lasting legacy.
The Sims: Makin’ Magic
This late-stage expansion for the original The Sims title, released in 2003, brought spellcasting, a Mystery Man who gave out fines, duels, and toads into everyday suburban life. Players could collect ingredients to brew potions, enchant their objects, or teleport to Magic Town, a separate realm filled with vendors, mini-games, and supernatural residents. It was campy, ambitious, and gloriously weird in the pivotal years of The Sims’ soul- and identity-search. Other mage-based DLC for The Sims arguably don’t capture Makin’ Magic’s magic. Makin’ Magic proved that when The Sims leans into fantasy, it can be unforgettable.
The Sims 3: Supernatural
With a full-on embrace of monsters, Supernatural is one of the best DLCs about monsters in The Sims franchise. It lets players become vampires, werewolves, fairies, witches, and even ghosts. Traits and abilities unique to each life state allowed for deeply customizable gameplay, and Moonlight Falls, the pack’s world, was atmospheric and lore-rich. It gave players the tools to create generational drama, whole covens, and monster marriages, all within the core sandbox experience.
The Sims 3: Into the Future
One of the most underappreciated expansions, Into the Future let Sims travel forward in time, interact with robots called Plumbots, and change the fate of the future based on present-day actions. With hoverboards, dystopian and utopian timelines, and a strange NPC named Emit Relevart (read it backward), the pack felt like a love letter to sci-fi fans. Thematically out-there but mechanically solid, it showed just how far The Sims could stretch and still feel like The Sims.
The Sims 4: StrangerVille
If Makin’ Magic was whimsy and Supernatural was folklore, StrangerVille was full-on conspiracy. This narrative-heavy Game Pack threw players into a dusty desert town plagued by secret labs, possessed townsfolk, and a mysterious plant-based infection. With military career options, hazmat suits, and a full mystery to unravel, it pushed The Sims 4 into X-Files territory.
What made StrangerVille stand out wasn’t just its storyline, but how it encouraged players to break from their usual routines. For once, it wasn’t about building the biggest house or climbing a career ladder; it was about uncovering secrets, solving problems, and embracing the bizarre. Though it was divisive among fans due to its linearity, it proved that The Sims could do genre storytelling without losing its identity.
The Sims 4: Life and Death
One of the franchise’s most recent (and spookiest) expansions, Life and Death embraced the morbid and the metaphysical. Cemeteries became interactive hubs, thanatology became a learned skill, and Sims could now explore grief and legacy in surprisingly rich ways. Players could romance the Grim Reaper openly, speak with the dead, or create entire neighborhoods themed around mourning and remembrance. It was dark, yes, but it was also refreshing. Players loved that The Sims 4 wasn’t afraid to go there.
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The Lesson: The Sims Has Never Been 'Normal'
The Sims was never meant to be a true-to-life simulation. From the very beginning, the franchise’s charm has come from its absurdity: its dream logic, its commitment to chaos. Whether it’s abduction by aliens that results in male Sims carrying an alien baby or cowplant deaths, the most memorable Sims moments tend to be the weird ones.
And that’s something Project Rene should lean into, not shy away from. While it may be tempting to aim for realism or elegance to appeal to modern audiences that turn to a game like InZOI, players don’t play The Sims for realism. They play it to see what happens when they let a Sim eat twelve grilled cheeses in one sitting while flirting with Father Winter in a mansion.
Weirdness Is Timeless
Maxis has an opportunity here. If Project Rene is to push the series forward, it needs to remember that embracing the strange is not a gimmick, it’s a legacy. There’s something timeless about The Sims’ ability to turn the mundane into the ridiculous. A career as a ghost hunter or a medieval monarch in The Sims is possible. A vampire Sim can reproduce with a spellcaster and create a league of undead, magical babies. The game thrives when it gives players tools to create their own emergent narratives, even if those narratives involve gnomes causing mischief or flirting with skeletons.
Give Players the Tools for Chaos
If Project Rene truly is a platform that will grow over time, as Maxis suggests, it should be designed with weirdness in mind from the beginning. That means traits and aspirations that invite unpredictable behavior. That means lore-lite fantasy features, paranormal events, and Easter Eggs in The Sims that reward players for exploring the strange. And most of all, it means trusting the community to take those weird tools and run with them. Just as important is flexibility. Maxis should build Project Rene to support thematic expansions that break from everyday life. Let the game accommodate those alternative playstyles without forcing modders to do the heavy lifting alone.
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The Sims Needs to Evolve, Not Settle
It’s easy to imagine Project Rene playing it safe, especially after The Sims 4’s rocky development and launch and SimCity’ s failure. Project Rene will likely offer smoother mechanics, updated visuals, and modern online features. But safe isn’t what fans will remember. Safe isn’t what players build 200-hour saves around. Weird is what lingers. And weirdness, when done well, is what gets screenshotted, shared, and immortalized in forum lore and TikToks. Maxis doesn’t need to create Makin’ Magic 2.0, but it should let Project Rene be strange. Let it be surprising. Let it be more than just another game about house-building and job promotions. Let it be The Sims—in all its weird, wonderful glory.
The Sims 4
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 70 /100 Critics Rec: 26%
- Released
- September 2, 2014
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Crude Humor, Sexual Themes, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Maxis
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Proprietary Engine
WHERE TO PLAY
Unleash your imagination and create a unique world of Sims that’s an expression of you. Download for free, and customize every detail from Sims to homes and much more. Choose how Sims look, act, and dress, then decide how they’ll live out each day. Design and build incredible homes for every family, then decorate with your favorite furnishings and décor. Travel to different neighborhoods where you can meet other Sims and learn about their lives. Discover beautiful locations with distinctive environments and go on spontaneous adventures. Manage the ups and downs of Sims’ everyday lives, and see what happens when you play out scenarios from your own real life. Tell your stories your way while developing relationships, pursuing careers and life aspirations, and immersing yourself in this extraordinary game, where the possibilities are endless
- Genre(s)
- Simulation
