Several veteran developers who worked on The Sims 4 – some since the series’ inception at Maxis – have been let go by publishers EA or moved to The Sims mobile division.
Did you know Maxis used mimes to animate The Sims?
Last week, designer Daniel Hiatt announced he was leaving Maxis EA. Hiatt did not explain whether he was let go, or voluntarily left his position.
Hey, all. Looks like my time at Maxis is up. I’ve enjoyed my time working on The Sims, and it’s been an honor to be able to contribute to the game that you know and love. It’s also been a pleasure to be able to meet and interact with so many of you.
Take care,
Daniel— Daniel H (@SimGuruDaniel) April 19, 2018
However, an inside source has confirmed to PCGamesN that Hiatt was laid off alongside 15 to 20 other Maxis EA staff members.
Producer Michael Duke, who led development of The Sims 4 on console, also recently changed his LinkedIn description to say he is “leading the development of a new mobile title.”
When panicked fans asked about the change, Duke assured them he is still working on the console team but it’s “no longer my sole focus.” When asked whether he had moved to The Sims mobile, Duke revealed he is working on a new Maxis project on mobile.
Never fear guys. I still work with the console team in fact I will be at EA Play for Console in June. It is no longer my sole focus. @SimGuruCleaning and @SimGuruLegacy are covering the day to day now but console will always be important to me 🙂
— Michael Duke (@SimGuruDuke) April 20, 2018
The Sims mobile’s community manager also took to Twitter to reassure fans she wasn’t going anywhere, and that The Sims will continue for many more years. Back in 2014 Sims 4 producer Grant Rodiek said that there would not be another Sims game if The Sims 4 did not do well (via PCGamer).
Sims VIP speculates that the staff layoffs are due to a move to mobile for The Sims 5 but this is something we’ve been unable to confirm. We asked EA for comment on Friday and they have not yet responded, will update this article if we learn anything new.