Back at this year’s Gamescom conference, EA and developer Maxis previewed a title that The Sims fans has been waiting years for. The Sims 4 was previewed in-depth, complete with a partially live-action reveal trailer for the sport.

Now, with the newest expansion of The Sims 3 out today, EA and Maxis themselves are looking into the way forward for The Sims franchise. The publisher today announced that The Sims 4 can be launching in approximately 12 months, sometime in “autumn 2014.” EA is already taking pre-orders for the sport, including a limited edition version that incorporates “Life of the Party” in-game content.

“The Sims franchise has the most convenient fans on the earth and their passion and exuberance is at an all-time high,” said Rachel Franklin, general manager of Maxis’ Sims Studio. “Those millions of voices will fuel our development process, helping The Sims 4 to be the foremost ambitious and the coolest game our studio has ever made. We can’t wait to determine our fans reaction when The Sims 4 comes out in autumn 2014.”

The Sims 4 will include much of the identical gameplay that has gained the series a large fan base, but additionally has a number of updates that ought to change things significantly. The sims featured in next year’s game could have emotions that players shall be in a position to manipulate through circumstances. Maxis has also described its new sims as “intelligent, emotionally aware beings.” Customization options have also been expanded, including the power to edit the facial structure of individual sims.