The Sims 5 may be in full production, but when’s it coming out?

The Sims 5 is coming and not just in the theoretical sense, with leaks suggesting the game is finally in production.

EA has already confirmed that The Sims 5 is in the cards. This was initially confirmed by CEO Andrew Wilson in early 2020. A merger with Maxis made this an inevitability, which was alluded to in a blog post discussing the “future” of the franchise.

“As we look towards our future, continuing to create entertaining and unexpected content for The Sims 4 for years to come while also building the future of The Sims franchise, we want to hear from all kinds of voices,” Maxis vice president Catharina Mallet said.

Since then, fans of The Sims have started looking for information on the game, including what gameplay will be like and what new features might be in the works. But even more importantly, when is The Sims 5 coming out?

So far, there has been no official launch date from EA or Maxis but fans believe that things might be getting close.

Job listings point at The Sims 5 progress

Since Mallet’s original blog post about the future of The Sims, there have been an abundance of job listings that the Sims community can’t help but read into.

The most recent job listings are in the animation department. One animator job stated that the employee’s main role would be creating animations in a “pre-production environment,” including human character animations that “express a wide range of emotions and personality.”

This post strongly hints that The Sims 5 is in the pre-production stage. This is part of the typical AAA game process. The first stage is conceptual, which is essentially creating a vision for the game. Pre-production involves putting together a team to create the game. Production is the development of the game. Post-production is delivering the game to the public, sometimes in stages.

It’s currently impossible to know exactly how far The Sims 5 team is into the pre-production stage. Other roles have been filled over the past few years, including senior positions. This means there is a team in place for the game, meaning the additional hirings could point towards the game entering full production in the very near future.

Of course, even if it enters full production in the near future, The Sims 5 may not come out for years. Fans are hoping more information will come out regarding The Sims 5 after years of silence.