[9] In a press release, Maxis stated it agreed to the acquisition in order to take advantage of Electronic Arts' strong distribution channel.

Jeff Braun left, having received a sizeable amount of money during the purchase, and nearly half of the Maxis staff were laid off.

[7] SimCity 4 was released in 2003, the first title in the series to implement true 3D, as well as the first where Wright was not directly involved with work.

In 2004, Maxis' longtime studios in Walnut Creek were closed,[13] and the staff moved to EA offices in Redwood City and Emeryville.

While Maxis were focusing on graphical improvements with the SimCity reboot, EA wanted to make the game multiplayer and always-online, in part to combat piracy.

The reboot effectively ended the SimCity franchise, and was the last game to be developed by Maxis' core location in Emeryville.

[24][25] In the wake of the SimCity launch, Maxis went through a series of layoffs and studio closures, which continued throughout the late 2010s.

The Texas team was set up at the existing EA offices in Austin to work on a new IP,[37] while the Europe studio was created specifically to support The Sims 4.

Unlike the Texas office, Maxis Europe is a "distributed development team", composed of staff working remotely.

[38] The move came amid a number of job postings at the Redwood Shores studio for a new The Sims title, as well as EA CEO Andrew Wilson hinting at an online multiplayer-focused iteration of the franchise.

In 2013, Maxis Emeryville released a reboot, simply titled SimCity, to mixed reviews, due to technical issues at launch surrounding its mandatory online connectivity.

Maxis released The Sims 2 in 2004, a sequel title that features a full 3D environment, as opposed to the original's dimetric engine.

Players create species starting at the single cell level, and develop them into sentient life.

This is one of few Maxis' games to feature goals on its plot as the player must complete five different phases and reach the space-traveling technology.

There is also an ultimate goal, which is entering the galactic core, a massive black hole surrounded by a powerful and hostile cyborg species called the Grox; however, the player can stay in a single phase as long as they wish, even after completing it.