Sims 4 is the best selling base game of the franchise.

"Trashmagic;c-17386665" wrote:
There was a rumor going around towards the end of the Sims 3 reign that money from Sims 3 sales and (store) sales went to fund another EA game.

If true, that is the right of EA to allocate their money where they see fit. However while I do believe the Sims franchise brings them in a nice chunk of change, I don't believe that change gets put back into the Sims franchise as much as it should or could.

I think EA sees the Sims as that game that doesn't need a huge budget but will pull in big cash.
Perhaps that is why the devs talk of a tight/small budget.

This is all theory based on rumor I heard once upon a time but I do think it's something to consider.

Unfortunately this out of the developers hands if so.

Having worked for 20 years in a department that is consistently profitable but got no IT or product support from the company, I can totally believe this. Companies don't always allocate the most resources to the areas that earn a predictable return. And money gets siphoned off for projects that are ultimately abandonned or that reach the market and flop.