Summary
- The Sims 5 could benefit from early access, like Baldur's Gate 3, allowing fans to provide feedback and shape the game's development.
- The open-ended nature of The Sims series makes extensive testing necessary, and early access would be a more effective way to gather data from a large player base.
- Early access builds goodwill within the community, fosters a strong relationship between developers and players, and allows for ongoing feedback and support even after the game's launch.
The Sims 5 is still largely a mystery to fans of the franchise. Very little about the game has been revealed, only the working title, "Project Rene," a few customization options, and multiplayer features that are being developed for the title. Despite the relative mystery, the developer has promised to remain open about the game's development over the upcoming years leading to its launch. With so much time to go until the game's release, The Sims 5 could benefit from borrowing one of Larian Studios' development strategies for Baldur's Gate 3: early access.
Baldur's Gate 3 enjoyed a lengthy development under the scrutiny of both Larian Studios and long-time series fans. The game spent three years in early access on Steam, letting gamers play through the first act and provide feedback. Dedicated fans of Baldur's Gate got to experience the development of the game along with a preview of things to come, and developers had extensive feedback to make informed decisions. Not only was it a hit with fans, but early access was good for Baldur's Gate 3. Larian Studios' game is now raising the bar for RPGs in many ways, which can be attributed in no small part to the immense amount of feedback and time the developer took in crafting the title.
The Sims Is The Perfect Series For Early Access
While EA's reveal of the next Sims project promised that there would be opportunities to test the game during development and that new information around the title would be delivered somewhat frequently, The Sims 5 should fully embrace early access. The Sims has always provided players with a life simulation sandbox. A big part of the fun of the series is setting up various scenarios and seeing what antics play out. With expansions for pets, careers, and even playable vampires in The Sims 4, fans have many different ways to customize their experience. The developer has said that the next title in the series will have more in-depth behavior models and AI for the Sims. Hence, the possibilities for the game are nearly endless.
Because of the open-ended nature of the series, The Sims 5 needs extensive testing. Sims games provide a tremendous amount of freedom because of their sandbox nature, and as the game expands, the possibilities of what can happen will only grow, keeping players invested. This vast amount of potential makes early access a strong option for the developers. EA is a huge company, but The Sims 5 will be vast, and using the community to test the game would be more effective for gathering data about the title than trying to do so entirely within the company. Having a large player base testing the game could allow for it to launch with more content and help it navigate some of the roadblocks The Sims 5 faces.
Early Access Builds Goodwill
The other reason early access would be suitable for The Sims 5 is that it fosters goodwill within the community and organically builds hype around a game. Larian developed a strong relationship with its player base through early access. Now fans of the game are invested in the developers themselves. Building a community and presenting the game's development transparently will make that community more robust and invested while providing developers with feedback - it's a symbiotic relationship. Sims games receive many expansions for years after launch and are ongoing evolving experiences, so this relationship and the systems developed for fan input and feedback could be maintained long after the title's launch.
While The Sims 5 is still a handful of years away from release, players will hopefully have their hands on the game long before then. While early access is not a good fit for all games, it would be a strong one for The Sims franchise to embrace going forward. Establishing a strong rapport with the series' fans during an early access period would aid development for years to come. While little is known about the game, EA has expressed that the title will be an ambitious step forward for the franchise, one that could see The Sims 5 revolutionize the simulation genre. Early access would help The Sims 5 in achieving this lofty goal.
The Sims 5 is currently in development.