EA Shuts Down Maxis, ‘The Sims’, ‘SimCity’ Developer

Briefly: The studio behind the Sim series, and responsible for the addiction that is The Sims, is no more.

EA today announced the closure of the long running studio, stating that “Today we are consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations as we close our Emeryville location. Maxis continues to support and develop new experiences for current Sims and SimCity players, while expanding our franchises to new platforms and developing new cross-platform IP.”

The studio was founded in 1987 by Will Wright and Jeff Braun. The incredible Sim City was its very first game, which of course launched a slew of Sim related titles. The Sims was once one of EA’s largest money makers, and though The Sims development was moved to a separate team, it’s crazy to think that the studio responsible for its creation no longer exists.

Here’s EA’s full statement:

Today we are consolidating Maxis IP development to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations as we close our Emeryville location. Maxis continues to support and develop new experiences for current Sims and SimCity players, while expanding our franchises to new platforms and developing new cross-platform IP.

 

These changes do not impact our plans for The Sims. Players will continue to see rich new experiences in The Sims 4, with our first expansion pack coming soon along with a full slate of additional updates and content in the pipeline.

 

All employees impacted by the changes today will be given opportunities to explore other positions within the Maxis studios and throughout EA. For those that are leaving the company, we are working to ensure the best possible transition with separation packages and career assistance.

Now, Maxis is also responsible for 2013’s mediocre SimCity, but after such a steady library of critically acclaimed titles, everyone has to miss every once in a while, right (just look at Pixar and Cars 2)?

We wish the best for everyone affected by the closure. What was your favourite Maxis game?