After over a decade of developing titles that evolved into major franchises, Electronic Arts (EA) would finally let the curtains fall over Maxis. Certain groups within the company that brought gamers "SimCity" and its spin-off "The Sims," however, would be absorbed by other EA studios across the world.
EA confirmed that they would be merging Maxis' IP development with its studios in Redwood shores, Salt Lake City, Helsinki and Melbourne in line with the announced closure of the Emeryville studio, based on a report from Gamespot. The news came to light after SimCity Guillame Pierre tweeted his farewell to Maxis, ending the post with "RIPMaxisEmeryville."
However, EA mentioned that the show would go on for all the projects in motion and that would be including "The Sims 4." The game developers announced that the first expansion pack for the life simulation video game would be on its way for release. Nonetheless, gamers who noticed that there had been previous game features that were not included in "The Sims 4," feared that those features might be included in paid expansion packs.
Meanwhile, EA would be preparing "separation packages and career assistance" to Maxis employees who decided to leave after the closure of the Emeryville studios. Also, employees who wish to stay would be given an opportunity to check out the integrated Maxis studios throughout EA.
Maxis was founded by Will Wright in 1987 before it became an integral part of EA, based on a report from The Guardian. Maxis Emeryville studios was behind well-loved titles like "SimCity" and "The Sims," which also later led the development of their franchises.
However, the party would somehow come to an end. The end became evident as certain concerns were raised by gamers regarding certain projects led by Maxis. Among these would be the 2013 "reboot" of "SimCity," which wasn't as successful as the original; then, gamers also noticed some parts originally in "The Sims" franchise were removed in "The Sims 4."
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