Sims 4, originally Project Olympus, was going to be an Sims Online 2 essentially.
But after the failure of SimCity 2013 they quickly scrapped the idea of another Sims Online and in under a year, using the same resources for Project Olympus, including the engine, created The Sims 4. They used all kinds of excuses as to why the game was so restrictive and lackluster. After the bad reception they were quick to respond with three free updates to try and recover from their PR disaster. Ghosts, Star Wars costumes, and pools returning with swimwear as well.
The majority never wanted a main entry to be a online only game, let alone a online focused with singleplayer second and basically forgotten experience. They wanted an improvement over The Sims 3, fixing its issues, taking what worked, and adding onto it. Like every entry has done, improve upon the predecessor with a true successor. Yet we never got that. Instead a technically flawed mixed bag was sold to us for $60. To this day there's so much missing. So much wasted time on milking the hollow shell The Sims 4 is via DLC (mostly in Stuff Packs).
We don't want The Sims 5 to be multiplayer, let alone feature it. We want it to be singleplayer as it always has been for the series. If they want a multiplayer game, go make a new game as a side project. Make a new Sims Online. But keep the main entries 1-5 singleplayer as is tradition.
*Also we don't want a multiplayer game because EA will put in predatory loot boxes and expensive microtransactions to try and make more money on top of the base game, any DLC, and subscription fees. It would be a nightmare for anyone who has a wallet. More so than even the current situation with The Sims 4 and its $400+ DLC on top of a on sale $5 base game to lure you into a trap.
