Maxis Software Inc.

Overview

Maxis Software Inc. is a game development studio founded by Will Wright and Jeff Braun in 1996. The company is best known for its best-selling series of Sim games. Coined with SimCity in 1989, these games all use the Sim prefix and are mostly managerial strategy games, spanning all kinds of areas. The most successful segment is The Sims franchise. The company also had two other division, Maxis UK Ltd. and Maxis South.

Prior to starting The Sims, the company was acquired by Electronic Arts, Inc. in June 1997. The integration has gone slowly. The studio was officially closed in February 2004 and most of the jobs have been moved to EA Redwood City. Although the studio has been officially closed, the name Maxis still remains associated with The Sims games and most games are thus still credited as such. During the years, EA has been steadily removing Maxis from in-game text and credits, but the name is not completely discarded yet.

The original founder Will Wright is considered one of the industry's visionaries. He currently has a studio in Emeryville, California where he is working on Spore.

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