The Sims franchise is moving beyond linear, sequential video game releases, according to franchise vice president and general manager Kate Gorman Revelli. Instead of moving on to The Sims 5, replacing The Sims 4, Electronic Arts and developer Maxis will continue to support The Sims 4, adding onto the franchise by developing next to it, not replacing it.So much of the way people play The Sims is about expressing themselves and their creativity and finding their own set of goals to pursue within the game, but what brings them back is their attachment to those little people that theyve built, Gorman Revelli told Polygon. We also know that were not going to go to a linear model, because we have so much withThe Sims 4. What were really looking at is, how do we continue to work with our community, work with our players, and not have you have this moment in time where youre going to reset all your progress and lose those amazing memories, characters, and things that youve built within those 10 years of your gameplay, potentially?Confused? Up until now, most people considered Project Rene as The Sims 5. But thats not entirely right. Project Rene will exist alongside The Sims 4 and other games as a multiplayer component. We want to continue to extend, so if you want to play that kind of multiplayer experience, thatll be what you look for in the things weve talked about about Project Rene, she said. The first real look at what to expect there is scheduled for later this year, according to Gorman Revelli, as part of its new experimental testing grounds, The Sims Labs.Again, its a complementary experience to all the things its not a linear experience, she said. Theres a lot well be seeing in the playtest, but the core piece to know what Rene is were really looking at a way to make The Sims playable together. Thats what well be continuing to iterate on and learn with the community.Gorman Revelli was clear that The Sims will continue to evolve and upgrade. In a post on The Sims blog, The Sims 4 was described as a foundational Sims experience thatll continue to be modernized. So will there ever be a game called The Sims 5? The answer sounds like no. But that doesnt mean the Sims experience isnt going to change or evolve; whatever would fall, perhaps, fifth in line as a mainline Sims game (Rene or not!) is not a replacement for The Sims 4 its a continuation of it.