EA has announced that it is shutting down Maxis Emeryville, the studio behind franchises such as The Sims and SimCity. Development of SimCity will continue at EA's studios in Redwood Shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne.
Here's EA statement in full, as provided to Kotaku :
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.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.All employees impacted by the changes today will be given opportunities to explore other positions within the Maxis studios and throughout EA. For those that are leaving the company, we are working to ensure the best possible transition with separation packages and career assistance.
Founded in 1987 as Maxis Software, the studio's first title — SimCity — achieved critical acclaim, which led to EA's acquisition of the studio in 1997. Maxis rebooted the SimCity franchise in 2013, but the launch was riddled with server connectivity and gameplay issues.
Source: Kotaku
