Spore and Sims Creator Will Wright Leaves Electronic Arts

The gaming industry has, along with many other branches of entertainment, franchises that gained a cult-like following thanks to their unique features, story or the experience they offered. We've seen series like Halo, Need for Speed or Madden develop huge fanbases, but none of them are more popular than the Sims franchise.

Arguably one of the most profitable ventures in the world, the series has brought massive amounts of money to Electronic Arts, its publisher, and to its creator, Will Wright. But now, it seems that the close relationship between Wright and the EA team will be a spiritual one from now on, as he left the Maxis studio, which was owned by EA, to start his own “think tank” for new projects based on everything from toys to video games.

But don't think this means that all ties are broken between Wright and EA, as the new company, Stupid Fun Club, will offer all of its projects to EA, which will have the main publishing option for each and every one of them. The company will be “an entertainment think tank developing new Intellectual Properties to be deployed across multiple fronts including video games, movies, television, the Internet, and toys.”

“The entertainment industry is moving rapidly into an era of revolutionary change,” said Will Wright. “Stupid Fun Club will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I've had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future.”

The departure wasn't reason for worries for the current CEO of EA, John Riccitiello, who declared his confidence in the future projects of the developer and of the healthy relationship his company will have with the new company. “We believe in Will's vision for Stupid Fun Club and we're looking forward to partnering with Will and his team long into the future.”

All in all, a pretty shocking move that, if taken care of properly, might generate an even bigger profit than tying down Wright with the never-ending installments of Sims add-ons of Spore expansions.