The much-rumoured project is being developed for the big screen by Amazon MGM Studios, video game giant Electronic Arts announced at its investor day event, among broader plans to expand its lucrative “Sims” franchise.

“The Sims” video game series was originally spun off from the popular “SimCity” franchise. While its forerunner had gamers building cities, 2000’s “The Sims” took players inside individual homes, allowing them to customise everything from furniture to their virtual inhabitants’ relationships.

Described by its original creator as a “virtual dollhouse”, the flexible and open-ended “Sims” games generally lack specific goals or plotlines.

Over 25 years, “The Sims” and its three sequels have sold more than 200 million copies, and Electronic Arts is now also planning a multiplayer version.

Kate Herron, best known for Marvel superhero television series “Loki” and the Netflix hit “Sex Education”, will direct and co-write the film. Details are scarce, with no release date set, though Electronic Arts’ Kate Gorman told Variety the movie would be “very much rooted” in the games’ universe, featuring plenty of “Sims lore”.

Margot Robbie’s company LuckyChap, which was behind the similarly unlikely yet wildly successful movie adaptation “Barbie”, will produce.

“We wanted the right partners and, to make an impact, the size of something like a ‘Barbie’ movie is exactly what we want,” Gorman added.

Based on the popular toy dolls, “Barbie” was last year’s highest-grossing movie. It was followed by “The Super Mario Bros Movie”, based on Nintendo’s flagship video-game series.

Other recent popular game adaptations have included “Sonic the Hedgehog”, “Uncharted”, and television’s “The Last of Us”.