EA is a company with a very strange reputation in the gaming industry. Despite being behind some of the most successful games of all time, they are also easily one of the most hated companies in the industry, or at least that’s the reputation they used to have up to a few years ago. The primary reason for that was the way they handled studios under their control, closing many well-known developers for no good reason.
WestWood, the studio that created the iconic “Command & Conquer” series, is one of the more notable examples. EA’s “strategy” in general was to cut their losses early and quickly, shutting down studios when they stopped earning huge profits. And recently, people seem to have forgotten about that – EA weren’t that active in shutting down their studios, and they actually managed to get a good reputation by implementing some changes in the terms of use for Origin.
In addition, many believed that Maxis was pretty much the safest studio under EA, as it was responsible for “The Sims”, one of the best-selling PC franchises of all time. If EA were going to shut anyone down, Maxis was the last studio on people’s minds – and yet, here we are, after it’s just been announced that Maxis are closing their doors.
This isn’t actually the end for Maxis developers though – according to EA, they’re merging the studio with other studios in various locations, and the developers who created the iconic “The Sims” and “SimCity” franchises will continue their work for EA.
This means that both games will continue receiving updates, which was the most worrying detail about the new announcement for most people. It was immediately assumed that updates were going to stop once the studio was closed, but EA obviously realize the importance of those franchises and are going to continue supporting them.
What’s more, we’ll probably see even more developments in those franchises over the next few years, just under a different name. It could actually be beneficial to those series in the long run, as mixing the expertise of the Maxis developers with other studios could expand their horizons and lead to interesting changes for the franchises.
Not all former Maxis employees will continue their work in EA’s other studios though, according to reports – even though EA are apparently giving everyone a fair chance to keep their job, some have decided to leave as they no longer feel comfortable after the studio’s effective dismissal. Whether this could have any strong implications for the future of “The Sims” and “SimCity”, it’s hard to tell – it depends mostly on who exactly has left.