The studio that gave life to the classic SimCity video game franchise, among many others, is being shut down.
Electronic Arts is closing game studio Maxis’ headquarters in Emeryville, California as it shifts development of SimCity and The Sims to other studios, the company confirmed. Maxis first brought the wildly popular urban planning simulation series SimCity to the world in 1989. EA acquired Maxis in 1997, releasing a more ground-level spinoff that let you control individual characters, The Sims, in 2000.
EA’s move to make big changes to Maxis’ structure isn’t entirely unsurprising. The hotly anticipated 2013 SimCity reboot was fraught with technical issues that made the game unplayable for many at launch and beyond, causing major public relations headaches for EA. Several months after launch, the company said it had sold 2 million copies despite the technical issues and called the title “a success.”
“Well it was a fun 12 years, but it’s time to turn off the lights and put the key under the door. #RIPMaxisEmeryville,” tweeted Maxis designer Guillaume Pierre.
Well it was a fun 12 years, but it's time to turn off the lights and put the key under the door. #RIPMaxisEmeryville
— Guillaume Pierre (@DesignGuillaume) March 4, 2015
In a statement to Polygon, EA said work on SimCity and The Sims would be moved to company studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne. It’s unclear how many layoffs might hit Maxis as a result of the changes. EA said affected Maxis employees “will be given opportunities to explore other positions within the Maxis studios and throughout EA.” But in another tweet, Guillaume claimed that “everyone’s out of a job.”
@F2CMaDMaXX@beyondsims yes. Everyone's out of a job.
— Guillaume Pierre (@DesignGuillaume) March 4, 2015
Electronic Arts posted better than expected third-quarter earnings in January thanks to strong console sales over the holiday season. However, the company warned that delays of several big-name titles could be a setback down the road.