Since Gamespot called me out for not updating my blog, I should probably make an announcement. I have joined EA Maxis in sunny California to work on Spore. Thus, I have left Firaxis after 7 years of work, during which I was co-designer of Civ 3, lead designer of Civ 4, and project lead on various other projects that never saw the light of day. It was a great run – I got to work with Sid Meier, who lives up to the billing, played a major role in growing one of my favorite games, and made a lot of great friends.
However, working on a game like Spore and with the incredible team that Will Wright has assembled in Emeryville was an offer I couldn’t refuse. So, leaving the job that almost defined my life for many years to come to EA (technically, to come back to EA) was definitely a bittersweet moment.
Of course, the more things change…
Congrats, man. I worked for like 5 years at EA, but I was only making crappy football games. Working with Will Wright seems like a dream come true. Good luck!
When i first heard you were leaving I thought you were insane for giving up design control of the greatest PC strategy franchise of all time. Then I heard you were going to get to work on Spore, and i couldn’t blame you one bit for grabbing at the chance. Good luck to you and I look forward to seeing what you come up with over there!
I am so happy that you will be working on Spore! I’m a Civilization fan that moved on to being more of a Sims fan. I was worried that the Sim City/Civilization phase of Spore might just be a pale imitation of Sid Meier’s Civilization series but now I am sure that it will be really good since you will be working on it.
The release date is looming soon (December 2007 last I heard) but you guys are still probably working on new things. The Sims 2 only had its core gameplay feature of ‘aspirations’ tacked on near the end of development. I can’t wait to find out all the new Spore features 🙂
Hi!
I’m very happy for having found this Blog! I want to express my congratulations for the awesome work done at Firaxis, and for making the best game of all time.
Man, I basically have it unistalled because I need time for real life!
You are super talented! Good luck!
Greetings from Argentina.
Congrats, Soren, and best of luck to you. 🙂
Hey man, congrats! Hope things are going well for you otherwise. Enjoy sunny California, where you can watch your baseball in the AM again!
~b