In what is now a trend for EA, another classic, long time influential studio has been shuttered by them today. Maxis, the studio that was originally formed by WillW right (Wright left Maxis and EA a few years ago), and is behind such classics as SimCity, The Sims, and Spore, is officially being closed.
“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,” an EA representative said in a statement.
Personally, this announcement has left me feeling completely heartbroken- like so many others, I too grew up playing SimCity and The Sims. These were very important games to me, and to see their developer gutted like this… it’s depressing.
EA, of course, has a history of buying studios, and then shutting them down like this. Other past notable examples like this include Origin, Black Box, Mythic, Bullfrog, Westwood, and Pandemic.
In this case, however, EA has assured us that the Maxis label will ‘live on.’
Fat lot of good will that do.