A message from Catharina Mallet, Vice President and General Manager, Maxis & The Sims Franchise
Last week, I gave a talk at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) called “The Sims: Designing for Inclusivity,” about how the culture and practices we embrace at Maxis (the EA studio behind The SimsTM) contribute to the success and cultural impact of The Sims. It was my first time speaking to the games industry in several years and WOW, it reminded me how invigorating it is to be in such a creative and passionate space.
There’s nothing quite like working in games: the creative and talented people, the groundbreaking technology, the indies and the big shops, the art and the science. Most of all however, it’s about that moment when a player tells you “I love what you made, and playing it made my day better.” Our players are incredibly passionate about the stories they craft, and we love seeing the impact our games have on their lives, their senses of self, and their communities. This sense of purpose - inspiring everyone to make a better world through creative play - and our commitment to our players leads to a truly unique culture at Maxis.
The Sims franchise has been around 22 years, has more than 563 million cross-title installs since 2014, and The Sims 4 was played for 1+ billion hours last year alone. The game has become a platform for self-expression and discovery, and nearly every day we hear stories from our community about how the game has impacted their lives in positive ways. We’re just getting started with all we want to accomplish with this amazing franchise, and we’re looking to grow our team.
Diversity, equity and inclusion have always been important to us at Maxis. We know that our games have the power to impact reality, and shape kinder, more empathetic and inclusive people. We know that diverse perspectives challenge us to think differently and innovate, which inspires our players. And we know that representation matters, and that when players see themselves in our games, they feel empowered. So we work hard to create the diverse and inclusive studio environment that is best suited to give players the choices that reflect and even change their view of the world.
As we look towards our future, continuing to create entertaining and unexpected content for The Sims 4 for years to come while also building the future of The Sims franchise, we want to hear from all kinds of voices. We are committed to being more inclusive of different backgrounds, races, genders, geographies and ways of thinking than ever before. We, of course, want to attract gaming experts, but we also recognize there’s enormous talent potential outside the industry. We need fashion designers, artists, architects, e-commerce specialists, machine learning experts and so much more. We view nontraditional experience as an asset, not a drawback.
Exciting things are coming! Check out our careers page for current listings - we can’t wait to hear from you!