Maxis Emeryville, developer of "SimCity" and early "The Sims" games, has now closed down, confirmed Electronic Arts. Rumors have been circulating online since the tweet by programmer Guillaume Pierre made its rounds in social media.
However, EA stated that this will not hinder any improvement plans for future "SimCity" games or the expansion packs being developed for "The Sims 4" such as "Get to Work: New Scientist."
In a statement sent to Kotaku, representatives from EA said, "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."
However, the statement also confirmed that, "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."
As for the employees being displaced due to the said move, they will be dispersed and can explore other opportunities within the Electronic Arts company. They are also allowed to leave the company, and the statement further restated that, "We are working to ensure the best possible transition with separation packages and career assistance."
The gaming community speculates that what prompted EA to close down the Maxis shop is the dismal performance of the "SimCity" game launched last 2013, which was beset with problems such as head-scratching interface on the gameplay and always-on Internet connection for managing player cities.
Maxis, founded in 1987 by Will Wright and acquired by EA a decade later, has become one of Electronic Arts' major developers because of the simulation games they published, particularly the early versions of "The Sims" through its division, The Sims Studio.
