That I recall there was mention that there would me a bit more focus on fixes coming. But that may have been a loose translation of official statements. I have also heard that it was loosely mentioned that there would be this break after the upcoming EP, but it might be lighter than what we think or are expecting.
Speculation wise—over a break to fix—before more new content might literally be as little as pushing back previous scheduled start/end dates of packs. Is it a couple weeks or a couple months? or actually more? We will just have to see. Or is this telling that times indeed have been harsh, and maybe a restructure of the teams is happening (maybe even layoffs and smaller teams), resulting in less content, but publicly they want show that they will put some more effort in fixing bugs, some free content updates, and getting the game to run smoother—as a consolidation effort. But may result is smaller/less content packs for the same amount as current pack costs (paying the same or more for less basically).
This is not a criticism to the company, it is still a business, and times are not looking good for most of us. Aside from gaming/entertainment, many companies are scrolling back to bare bones products/collections for higher prices to—I suppose—keep up with the times. I scrolled back on my spending in almost every category, but still allow a little "fun" spending, I just sometimes rotate on what that "fun" spending is monthly/seasonally.
My hopes are that it isn't as bad as it could be, but my instincts say it isn't as good as we think it could be either. But I love this franchise and if they are going to provide some free content, update with much needed bug fixes, and if I like the content they bring out—I will get/buy what I want/like. Hopefully, resulting in pushing through these tough times, and move on to better times with the franchise.
I am not interested in the multiplayer sims game nor the movie—so I could care less about that. So just hoping for packs that would interest me, and maybe in a few-several years we might get word, that they might at least plan for Sims 5. It is not that I think we will get Sims 5 anytime soon—I just don't want it to never happen.