As if 2020 can’t get any stranger, it’s been revealed everyone’s favourite human simulation, The Sims, is being turned into a reality television show.
What sets The Sims Spark’d apart from similar reality shows like Big Brother is the competition element, with 12 contestants selected to battle it out by completing in a variety of tasks held within the confines of the game. It’s basically like watching a bunch of randoms play The Sims, only these lucky sons of guns are vying for a $100,000 prize.
That said, the contestants are apparently well known gamers within The Sims community. The participants are divided into different teams and taking part in various competitions under three categories: character design, home building and story.
The Sims Spark’d consists of four episodes hosted by Season 14 American Idol finalist Rayvon Owen and features a three-judge panel made up of BuzzFeed Multiplayer producer and YouTube personality Kelsey Impicciche, game developer Dave “SimGuruNinja” Miotke and singer-songwriter Tayla Parx.
The announcement of the show shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone considering the current state of the world, with Electronic Arts reporting The Sims 4 hit a peak high of around 10 million during the early days of the pandemic. The company has also said that 2.5 million people have joined the online world in the past month, with people obviously making the most of their time stuck at home.
“Since its inception, The Sims has been a groundbreaking experience, allowing players to create and virtually live out the stories they create in-game,” said Lydnsay Pearson, GM of The Sims franchise. “That’s also why this show is so exciting. We’re continuing that innovative spirit, bringing our community together to compete and showcase their in-game storytelling on a reality show in an entirely new way.
The Sims Spark’d premiers this Friday in the states, with the rest of the world able to watch each episode the following Monday (July 20 and 27, August 3 and 10) via BuzzFeed Multiplayer.
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