Fans are in a tizzy over leaked screenshots that claim to be from Project Rene, the next Sims title.

The Sims community has not taken to the screenshots, which claim to be from the recent playtest of the next major Sims title, codenamed Project Rene.

This information comes from DzXAnt22's post on the Gaming Leaks and Rumours Subreddit. The same user leaked some footage and datamined a map from the initial playtest earlier this summer. In the post, they explain that the playtest this time was only available for mobile devices. The first playtest had been available on PC. They also mention that this playtest was only a small snippet and focused on Live mode, while all the elements from the previous playtest were missing.

The screenshots include a few preset Sims--DzXAnt22 confirms that Create-A-Sim was not included in this build--alongside outfits that can be purchased using in-game currency. In Live mode, there are more images showing quests such as "Buy a New Outfit" and "Complete an Shift at Cafe". If DzXAnt22’s censoring is any indication, it appears that other real players are also milling around.

DzXAnt22 shared screenshots of the game, as well as the app store description. This is where the playtest originated. It reads, "Explore an exciting Parisian neighborhood with unique activities and stylish rewards." There is a short description before concluding that "The features of this app are not necessarily indicative of the direction or content in any upcoming Sims games."

NEW Project Rene (Formerly "The Sims 5") Screenshots and Information from r/GamingLeaksAndRumours

It's important to note that there is no way for us to confirm with 100% certainty that this comes from Project Rene at the moment. Everyone is convinced it's Rene because the location looks remarkably similar to the first playtest. EA has also stated that playtesting will be taking place soon. According to DzXAnt22, the screenshots show that it's a multiplayer test.

Project Rene, however, is not the only game in EA's vision of "The Sims Hub", as announced at its recent investor presentation. There's The Sims 4, My Sims and Project Stories which is a mobile-only game that we know nothing about. There's a very slim chance we could be playing that game instead, given the mobile interface and the crinkly character models. Based on what EA is currently working on, here's where the screenshots might be:

• Project Stories is a mobile game
• The mobile version of Project Rene, which Maxis described previously as "a different experience" than the desktop version
• We don't know about a third secret thing
• The Project Rene version that we saw earlier is a completely stripped down version. It looks nothing like the beautiful lighting engine shots.

Whatever this is, people are not happy. One Redditor wrote "Dear God my eyes are burning," while another said, "Looks cheap mobile game with poor graphics and microtransactions on every little thing." If this is a mock-up, I won't be playing. Reddit posts about leaks are littered with comments like "ugly," 'horrific" and 'garbage.

As someone correctly points out, if Project Rene turns out to be a full-fledged Sims mobile game, then would mean three individual Sims mobile games: Freeplay and Project Stories. Rene itself. It's a lot to push mobile games while still promoting your 10-year-old Sims mainline game. Rene was originally marketed as a multiplatform experience. There's still a small glimmer (read: probably copium), in my soul, that Rene will be a success.

PC Gamer has asked EA to comment on the leaks but has not heard back. I'll update the piece if EA responds.