7 Video Game Developers KILLED After Corporate Takeovers

Electronic Arts were voted the ‘Worst Company In America’ in both 2012 and 2013. Throughout their history they have attracted criticism for their mistreatment of employees, lack of innovation through their reliance on cash cow franchises (such as FIFA) that release yearly with little other than roster updates and their rampant introduction of Loot Boxes, which notably brought Star Wars Battlefront II to its knees after huge amounts of player backlash.

EA’s biggest crime in the eyes of many is how many studios they have acquired and either subsequently dissolved or turned into another identical subsidiary tasked with taking the unique game property they became known for and turning it into something that can be released on a regular schedule as quickly as possible in order to maximise profit.

Maxis were one of EA’s first big-scale acquisitions, changing hands for $125 million back in 1997. Co-founder Will Wright remained with the studio and channelled his energy into The Sims, which became a runaway success. Since his departure in 2009, however, the output of the brand has fallen in terms of quantity and quality. 2013’s SimCity was an unmitigated disaster as a result of its always-on DRM requirements and the studio’s main location was shuttered in 2015, with staff transitioned into EA’s mobile division.

Maxis still exists in name, despite their inactivity, but they are long dead in spirit, having not even worked on a Sims game since 2007.