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judhudson · Mar 4, 2015

I guess they could not save themselves from the disaster known as SimCity 5 / The New SimCity.

First to break the news was Guillaume Pierre, the lead gameplay scripter on the latest version of SimCity.

David Monks @F2CMaDMaXX
@beyondsims @MaxisGuillaume Yeah, sorry, i saw this as you leaving, has the studio closed?

Guillaume Pierre @MaxisGuillaume
@F2CMaDMaXX @beyondsims yes. Everyone's out of a job.

Source: http://www.beyondsims.com/55229/ea-closes-maxis-emeryville/

***Update from EA***

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.

http://kotaku.com/ea-shuts-down-simcity-developer-maxis-1689454903

Miles X · Mar 4, 2015

Fuck EA, I fucking hate them.

hatchx · Mar 4, 2015

Seems appropriate:

Freedom = $1.05 · Mar 4, 2015

not like this, simcity. not like this.

BlackBuzzard · Mar 4, 2015

Will Wright got out at the right time.

So is this the main studio or is it a sub studio like Bioware Austin?

SJRB · Mar 4, 2015

hatchx said:
Seems appropriate:

http://static1.gamespot.com/uploads/original/454/4549725/2602193-9874855801-24538.jpg

First thing I thought of as well. For fucks sake, EA.

SteveWinwood · Mar 4, 2015

I am shocked

ea doing that?

never

Megasoum · Mar 4, 2015

That really sucks (even if not exactly surprising).

Weird coincidence on the timing since the PR buzz is going all in for City Skylines these days.

Revven · Mar 4, 2015

I can't believe it actually happened but... it did. Wooooooow. I hope everyone there lands on their feet somewhere. I mean, we all predicted it would happen but I never thought it'd happen so soon -- what, 2 years after SimCity came out? Crazy.

Just terrible decisions were made with SimCity.

wenis · Mar 4, 2015

Sad. They're an incredible team.

Chobel · Mar 4, 2015

I guess EA weren't exaggerating when they said this
If The Sims 4 Isn't Successful, There Won't be a Sims 5

Piston Hyundai · Mar 4, 2015

Happy GDC, everybody!

Morgan Blackhand · Mar 4, 2015

Maybe they saw the Cities: Skylines streams.

massoluk · Mar 4, 2015

Shyamalan twist: They were already dead all along.

Cert.in.Death · Mar 4, 2015

Unfortunate. Beneath the business mantra that drove SimCity to become the DRM abomination it was, there was a good game dying to get out. Maxis was a good team and will be remembered fondly.

Crimsonclaw111 · Mar 4, 2015

Another one bites the dust.

Jezbollah · Mar 4, 2015

They close the SC studio, just as Cities: Skylines is about to be released..

SneakyStephan · Mar 4, 2015

Can you predict who will be next?

My bets are criterion next, then DICE

Shining Sunshine · Mar 4, 2015

Really sucks, but it's hard to prove your worth when there is a huge mistake that's made.

The Maxis heads are definitely the ones to blame here.

LegalEagleMike · Mar 4, 2015

EA be like " hurry and announce it while gaf is dealing with Xbox boost!"

Lunar15 · Mar 4, 2015

After the SimCity fiasco, I can't say this is surprising. That said, I hope everyone lands on their feet and can find something new.

ramuh · Mar 4, 2015

Who is really shocked at this? Simshitty was an abomination of a game.

Nokterian · Mar 4, 2015

Chobel said:
I guess EA weren't exaggerating when they said this
If The Sims 4 Isn't Successful, There Won't be a Sims 5

No wonder that game also got chopped in half and a lot of features that was in the other sims and sold to sell even more DLC.

Also no fucking surprise EA closes another studio with a long legacy.

Dedication Through Light · Mar 4, 2015

Well theres goes my hope for sim city on ps4. "(

Lactose_Intolerant · Mar 4, 2015

I remember someone here got a job as a tester there. I wonder if they still worked there before this.

The closing isn't a surprise though. Sim City was horrible.

maneil99 · Mar 4, 2015

Holy fuck, they keep cutting down their studios, they are only left with Visceral and Dice and Bioware, all of which have like 2.5 teams. Do they not realize Hardline is going to flop really fucking bad?

Megasoum · Mar 4, 2015

SneakyStephan said:
Can you predict who will be next?

My bets are criterion next, then DICE

Isn't Criterion already kinda dead?

CarbonFire · Mar 4, 2015

Looks like EA's done doing anything PC-only. RIP Maxis.

Heeeeeey Paradox. How you doin'?

judhudson · Mar 4, 2015

BlackBuzzard said:
Will Wright got out at the right time.

So is this the main studio or is it a sub studio like Bioware Austin?

Main Studio - Maxis which developed The Sims 1 and The Sims 2 before merging them into the EA Redwood Shores as The Sims Studio. Maxis went on to develop Spore and then SimCity.

I wonder if the SimCity brand will stick with The Sims Studio, of if it too is gone completely. I dunno if The Sims Studio has went back with the Maxis name or not. :/

kiunchbb · Mar 4, 2015

They should convert the studio into marketing department. Just look at how much they help sells all other city Sims.

Miles X · Mar 4, 2015

SneakyStephan said:
Can you predict who will be next?

My bets are criterion next, then DICE

Might as well be dead, they were gutted already.

balladofwindfishes · Mar 4, 2015

ugh

Both Spore and Sim City could have been great had EA not meddled with the designs of them and made horrible decisions anyone with a brain could have seen would have failed.

tcrunch · Mar 4, 2015

Group responsible for Spore and the latest SimCity doesn't sound like one I would want to keep around either.

cirrhosis · Mar 4, 2015

RIP in peace

The true Maxis died a long time ago.

I sincerely hope that everyone affected can find a new job promptly.

afternoon delight · Mar 4, 2015

And the tradition of corporate blood letting continues as shamefully as ever. Didn't make your quarter this year? Never again see the light of day.

Fucking shame, even if the newest Sim City was a disgrace to previous titles.

IchigoSharingan · Mar 4, 2015

EA sending another developer to hell.

And not a single person was surprised.

Mengy · Mar 4, 2015

Very sad news. Poor Maxis.

Palculator · Mar 4, 2015

That's EA for you. Not that recent output of Maxis has been stellar, but sad to hear nonetheless.

Chubzdoomer · Mar 4, 2015

BlackBuzzard said:
Will Wright got out at the right time.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Saganator · Mar 4, 2015

Shitty. Maxis was my first favorite developer. I remember being like 11 doing little dances of joy in my chair to the Maxis title screen of SimCity 2k.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKrxGH8K1bE

Kurdel · Mar 4, 2015

Studio shutdown announced during GDC is weird timing...

Rflagg · Mar 4, 2015

Maybe if you didn't gut your games to the point they are barely recognizable more people would buy them.

Megasoum · Mar 4, 2015

DICE Has two big games in the work right now but I'm sure that if they are not successfull they would transform the studio into a tech oriented group for the other EA studios (they are the ones that created and maintained Frostbite)

maneil99 · Mar 4, 2015

SneakyStephan said:
Can you predict who will be next?

My bets are criterion next, then DICE

Visceral's 2nd team (One making hardline not star wars). It's inevitable. They lost a huge chunk of their staff who left to form Sledgehammer games.

massoluk · Mar 4, 2015

balladofwindfishes said:
ugh

Both Spore and Sim City could have been great had EA not meddled with the designs of them and made horrible decisions anyone with a brain could have seen would have failed.

Uh... Spore and SimCity both have problems beyond the DRM bullshits, I'm not convinced EA not meddling would help out all that much.

shinobi602 · Mar 4, 2015

Is there more than one Maxis studio?

crimsonheadGCN · Mar 4, 2015

Did they do this during GDC because it might be overlook?

Freedom = $1.05 · Mar 4, 2015

Palculator said:
That's EA for you. Not that recent output of Maxis has been stellar, but sad to hear nonetheless.

yeah but how much was that because Maxis made bad choices and how much of that was because EA forced Maxis to make those bad choices?

Megasoum · Mar 4, 2015

shinobi602 said:
Is there more than one Maxis studio?

The other one is making The Sims

LakeEarth · Mar 4, 2015

Force studio to add things to game that everyone will hate (or remove what people will love)
Everyone hates it
Poor Sales
Repeat until Losses > Limit
Close Studio

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