EA Maxis / Maxis Software

EA Maxis / Maxis Software is a developer and publisher.

EA Maxis / Maxis Software Webpage

EA Maxis (originally Maxis Software), established in 1987, is an American producer (and initially publisher) of video games for PC, consoles, and mobile devices. Since 1997, it has been owned by Electronic Arts, and despite numerous changes in the company's organizational structure, it remains a key development studio within EA, responsible for one of the best-selling franchises of all time: The Sims. Since 2015, the studio has been directly overseen by Samantha Ryan, Vice President of Electronic Arts.

In its early days (as Maxis Software), the studio was primarily known for the strategy-simulation series SimCity, the first installments of which have become cult classics. Although the studio has also produced numerous other titles based on a similar concept, none of them has managed to replicate the success of its legendary predecessor. After the studio was acquired by Electronic Arts, EA Maxis released The Sims in 2000, which became the studio's key franchise. After the disappointing debut of Spore and the poor reception of the latest installments of the SimCity series, The Sims remains EA Maxis' main series.

History

The origins of EA Maxis date back to 1987, when two developers in Orinda, California, Will Wright and Jeff Braun, decided to found their own studio called Maxis. In 1985, the original version of Will Wright's game, SimCity, was released on the Commodore 64. Due to the game's innovative nature, however, the creator had significant difficulty finding a publisher interested in porting the title to other platforms. The desire to establish a company to publish it was the direct cause for founding the studio. According to some sources, the company's name, Maxis, was created by reversing the words "Six AM." Others, however, say that it came from a suggestion from Jeff Braun's father, who claimed a catchy studio name should consist of two syllables and having the letter "x" in the middle.

Contrary to popular belief, Maxis's first official production wasn't the aforementioned SimCity, but the 1988 aviation game SkyChase, released by Image Works for the Amiga and Atari ST (later ported to PC by Broderbund Software). However, it was the 1989 re-release of SimCity that made Maxis known worldwide, becoming one of the most iconic games in history and spawning a series of sequels and imitators, commonly known as "sims." Between 1990 and 1993, the American developer released a number of strategy-simulation games based on a similar concept, such as SimEarth: The Living Planet, SimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony, SimLife, and SimFarm. In 1993, a sequel to the studio's biggest hit, SimCity 2000, was released, repeating the success of the original, offering much more developed gameplay mechanics and incomparably better visuals.

In 1994, Maxis moved its headquarters from Orinda to nearby Walnut Creek. That same year, the company acquired the Texas studio Cinematronics (later Maxis South) and together they published Full Tilt! Pinball. Interestingly, one of the game's pinball machines, called Space Cadet was included by Microsoft in the Plus! package for Windows 95, and the subsequent versions of popular Windows operating systems (including Windows XP). Meanwhile, other - though not as successful - sims were appearing on the market, including two rather unusual ones: SimCopter and Streets of SimCity, in which players could explore cities imported from SimCity 2000 in a helicopter or car. However, both games proved commercial failures, and the studio's mounting losses, combined with a lack of a plan for the future, forced Maxis to seek a partner. Electronic Arts, which had already published several of the studio's games, most notably the second SimCity, came to the rescue. On July 28, 2007, EA acquired Maxis for $125 million. Unlike other famous Electronic Arts acquisitions of the time, the entire transaction was completed with minimal personnel losses at the studio.

Under the wings of Electronic Arts, the developers at Maxis Software finished SimCity 3000, which was released in 1999. The studio's real breakthrough, however, came at the beginning of the new millennium, when the first installment of a completely new franchise - The Sims - was released. It achieved immediate commercial success among both seasoned gamers and younger audiences, becoming one of the best-selling games of all time. The title's success solidified Will Wright and the entire studio's strong position, thus avoiding liquidation and the fate that befell many talented development teams following Electronic Arts' acquisition. In the following years, Maxis focused primarily on numerous expansions for its hit game, but in 2003 we got another installment in the SimCity series. Offering full 3D graphics for the first time, SimCity 4 was the first installment in the series not directly co-created by Will Wright. In 2004, we got a full-fledged sequel to The Sims series, which turned out to be another huge sales hit. That same year, EA decided to close one of Maxis' oldest branches in Walnut Creek and relocate its staff to its offices in Redwood City.

Following the overwhelming success of both installments of The Sims, EA Maxis established a dedicated development team called The Sims Studio to further develop the series; their first game was The Sims 3 (2009). In 2007, the next installment in the SimCity series, SimCity: Societies, was released, but due to a completely redesigned gameplay concept, the game went largely unnoticed. Between 2007 and 2011, we got a spin-off of The Sims series called The Sims: Medieval, as well as several games in the MySims series, a version of the popular Sims aimed at younger audiences. Meanwhile, Will Wright focused on creating another new IP, Spore, released in 2008. Despite relatively good sales, the game was met with a wave of criticism, which contributed to Wright's decision to leave EA Maxis in 2009. Without his involvement, the studio created a sequel, Darkspore (2011), as well as another installment in the SimCity series (2013), serving as a kind of reboot of the franchise. However, both games were met with a rather lukewarm reception from gamers, which led EA Maxis to focus almost exclusively on developing The Sims series in the following years.

In 2012, The Sims Studio was reintegrated into the EA Maxis brand and focused on developing the next installment of its best-selling series, which was released two years later. In March 2015, Electronic Arts decided to close the Emeryville branch, which had long been one of the studio's key development teams, and its employees were offered positions at other Maxis and EA group studios. In September of that same year, as a result of organizational changes, EA Vice President Samantha Ryan assumed responsibility for EA Maxis and EA Mobile. According to Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson, this did not mean, however, that EA Maxis's role was marginalized, and The Sims series, dveloped mainly for PC/Mac, remained the studio's priority. A year later, Electronic Arts announced the creation of a completely new brand – EA Worldwide Studios, encompassing several key development studios, including EA Maxis, BioWare, and EA Mobile.

In 2019, a new team – Maxis Texas – came under EA Maxis's wing, joined in 2021 by another team – Maxis Europe. Furthermore, in December 2021, it was announced that the Texas studio would be developing the first project in a decade, representing a completely new brand. Maxis Europe, meanwhile, was to focus on supporting The Sims 4.

Interestingly, The Sims 4 was supposed to be developed for many years to come. While there were plans to release a successor (focused on multiplayer), this idea was ultimately abandoned. This was due to changes taking place in the industry, which, as Andrew Wilson explained, had shifted its focus to "supporting and nurturing communities in the long run."