This is an extremely sad day for all Maxis fans. Today, on the 4th March 2015, EA have announced they will be closing Maxis Emeryville. Known for older Sims titles before The Sims Studio, Spore and the latest SimCity, Maxis Emeryville has been around for many years and has created many fan favourites.
First to break the news was Guillaume Pierre, the lead gameplay scripter on the latest version of SimCity.
@F2CMaDMaXX @beyondsims yes. Everyone's out of a job.
— Guillaume Pierre (@MaxisGuillaume) March 4, 2015
In addition to Guillaume’s tweet, Barrie Tingle, former Live Producer at Maxis, tweeted the following:
Well it was a good run. Maxis Emeryville closes as of today 🙁 #simcity
— Barrie Tingle (@barrietingle) March 4, 2015
Other Maxis employees, past and present, have also shared their thoughts about the closure of the Emeryville studio:
Sad to see end of Maxis Emeryville. So many great folks and so much talent, but I guess all good things must end. Best of luck to everyone!
— Maxis Scott (@MaxisScott) March 4, 2015
Very sad to hear about Maxis in Emeryville closing. Working on Spore and Sims 2 with amazing people were the highlights of my years in SF.
— Alex Hutchinson (@BangBangClick) March 4, 2015
It is very upsetting to see this happen to the studio. We would like to wish all Maxis Emeryville employees all the best for the future and thank them for all of their hard work. As it currently stands, HR are talking with Emeryville staff about new positions within EA or severance packages.
.@Nahirk yep HR is in talks with is all about severance package or new positions.
— Barrie Tingle (@barrietingle) March 4, 2015
Maxis Redwood Shores, otherwise known as The Sims Studio, are responsible for the development of The Sims franchise. The closure of Maxis Emeryville will not affect the production of The Sims 4.
Update
A handful of Maxis Emeryville employees will be moving to EAHQ to continue developing SimCity.
The small team tasked with keeping SimCity running(including myself) have all accepted positions to continue and develop SimCity at EAHQ.
— Barrie Tingle (@barrietingle) March 4, 2015
