One of the longest-running game series in the last 20 years of PC gaming was the "Sims" series. Not only could players manipulate their avatars in the "Sims" games but they could also build their own city in "SimCity." However, after an poorly received reboot of "SimCity," it seems that Electronic Arts is closing the company behind "The Sims."
Electronic Arts announced that they were closing "Sims" developer Maxis' Emeryville, Calif. offices. The Emeryville closing was first discovered when former "SimCity" gameplay scriptwriter and designer Guillaume Pierre tweeted about how everyone who worked at Emeryville lost their job. An EA representative confirmed the firings and revealed that this closing would occur because of EA's attempts at "consolidating Maxis IP developement to our studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne locations". While the closing of an office isn't that weird, it is strange that EA is closing ones in Emeryville, since the small city is the headquarter office for Maxis.
While this might sound like a sad turn for EA and for the "Sims" game series, EA promises that it won't affect the upcoming DLC releases for "Sims 4": "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."
EA also noted that all of the employees that were let go would be offered a chance to join other Maxis offices or another EA office.
This move comes two years after Maxis attempted to reboot "SimCity." While the series tends to receive mostly positive feedback, the game launch did not go well. Not only was the game limited by the requirement to be online while playing, but the servers that hosted the game crashed on the first day. Players had to wait an entire week before they could actually play the game.
