While there is quite a bit of excitement in the community for The Sims 5, there's a chance that the new installment in the long-running series might be further off than they think. Electronic Arts might be sending signals that its focus is still on The Sims 4 if a recent job listing is any indication.
The Sims 4 just blew past the seven-year anniversary of its release and while the game is still getting plenty of DLC, several people in that community believe it's just about time for a follow-up game. However, while there have been rumblings of The Sims 5 and what it might offer, there hasn't been any confirmation coming out of Electronic Arts. Now it appears that EA is staffing up its development staff for the existing game yet again, possibly hinting that a brand new installment could still be a ways off.
At first glance, the job listing for "Director, Global Brand Management, The Sims" doesn't seem to necessarily connotate whether the person who got the job would be playing one game over another. However, further on in the description, the company clearly lays out that this position will lead its' Sims 4 business. Whoever gets the position will be tasked with finding new and innovative new ways to excite the player base of the existing title. The listing also goes out of its way to make sure that whoever is hired will be working to help make new content for this year, but also for years in the future and will have an additional focus on the "multi-year experience roadmap."
Because EA does tend to offer up new content in the Sims 4 on a fairly regular basis, there are those who will be perfectly happy continuing to work in the current title. However, there are also features and design choices some fans aren't fond of in the current Sims and improvements they would like to see ironed out in a brand new game.
The lack of mention of anything that has to do with The Sims 5 could be a strong signal that EA's not worried about a brand new game just yet. However, it's worth pointing out that a position like Global Brand Manager is something that is much better suited for an existing title than it would something that was in the early stages of development.
In the meantime, those keeping close tabs on Electronic Arts might have reason to hope that hiring someone for a position like this could help the company better respond to fans' requests. That includes things like better handling gender-neutral pronouns in The Sims 4.
The Sims 4 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.