Though The Sims has had multiple mobile iterations over its history, the franchise’s latest installment could act as EA’s personal experiment. Called The Sims Labs: Town Stories, this spin-off will be a town-building and simulation game similar to The Sims. No official announcement for the game has come from EA, with a listing for the game appearing on the Google Play Store before being taken down.
However, unlike mainline The Sims games, the original Google Play Store listing describes The Sims Labs: Town Stories as a building simulation game in which players create their own town. The Sims franchise has already had a mobile game with a similar premise to SimCity: BuildIt, but this upcoming installment seems to focus more on unique in-game residents, more in the vein of Disney Dreamlight Valley.
Players can build, upgrade, and customize the town of Plumbrook with various building types and furniture, with individual residents moving into the town after upgrading it in ways that they like. Though the gameplay itself may not be entirely unique, the title of the game is cause for speculation.
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The Sims Labs Is Open for Experimentation
Town Stories is one of the first installments under The Sims Labs brand. Sims Labs has been introduced by EA as a place for dedicated Simmers to play test upcoming games in the franchise. The initial announcement placed heavy emphasis on new game play and storytelling styles, but the most interesting part of the announcement was what The Sims Labs will represent going forward.
According to the announcement, the brand Sims Labs will appear whenever EA is experimenting with new and different Sims products, systems, and features. Town Stories will act as a way for EA to experiment with new concepts, though the concepts are still currently unknown.
However, Town Stories isn’t the first time a game in The Sims franchise has focused on town-building with a cartoony aesthetic. This new installment could take inspiration from spin-off franchise MySims, which was marketed towards younger Simmers who played on consoles like the Nintendo DS and the Wii. With the heavy experimentation focus of Sims Labs, the core components of Town Stories being reminiscent of MySims, and the game’s mobile release, this new installment in The Sims franchise is clearly a test run for EA’s long awaited Project Rene.
The Mysterious Project Rene
First announced in October 2022, Project Rene has long been considered as a stand-in for The Sims 5. The mysterious project will be playable across console, PC, and mobile, making it the biggest undertaking The Sims team have taken on yet. Leaks from Project Rene have showcased recognizable aspects of The Sims, like the game’s Create-A-Sim feature. However, EA has remained tight-lipped on the project as a whole, but definitive proof of a game under the Sims Labs brand may have spilled the beans slightly.
Considering that Project Rene will be playable on mobile, The Sims Labs: Town Stories looks like EA’s first test at experimenting with characteristics of Project Rene in a mobile setting. These features could be a condensed version of the classic Create-A-Sim, new swatches and items that will be featured in Project Rene’s actual release, and new townies that could be present in Project Rene’s world. Focusing on a mobile release could also be EA’s way of introducing a younger audience not just to The Sims, but to the townies and world of Project Rene, making them more likely to pick up the game when it is actually released.
With so much of Project Rene in the dark, speculation is all that can truly be offered. The Sims Labs has shed a little light on the subject, but Simmers will just have to wait for EA to give more official details.