EA Closes Main Maxis Studio Behind SimCity
Time to add another one to the list of studios that Electronic Arts bought and closed. Maxis Emeryville is no more. While Maxis (founded in 1987) has grown as a brand and now has other studios, this was the main studio that was known for SimCity, The Sims, and Spore. Perhaps this is the fallout from 2013’s SimCity, the controversial reboot that shrunk the size of cities and required players to be always online for minimal benefit. But I always got the feeling that, despite the developers claiming the poor decisions were their idea, it was EA who mandated the poor decisions. It’s a real shame, as the brand will live on, but the studio that created that brand will be no more. Hopefully all the affected employees land on their feet quickly.
Source: Kotaku