Leaving the EA Creator Network
This is my second lengthy essay this October, and I hope you stick with me through it. Earlier this month, I decided to leave the EA Creator Network. This means that:
I will no longer be receiving game codes from EA.
I will no longer promote new The Sims releases.
My creator code, which many of you used, will soon become void.
I've been considering this decision for a while, and the recent announcement of EA's planned acquisition helped me commit to it.
The acquisition news is disappointing and appalling. I feel pessimistic about its impact on the franchise and the relationship between EA, creators, players, and even its own employees. Read more about that in this Polygon article.
Beyond the acquisition, I’ve been growing disappointed by the franchise's direction, especially the types of engagement and releases The Sims prioritises. The focus on DLC quantity over quality is clear, and I feel its impact on multiple levels. As a player and creator, you must constantly catch up, post more, and engage more. The game's core now feels unfocused and out of reach.
This may seem contradictory coming from someone who developed and released a paid DLC for The Sims. All I can say is that working on Cozy Kitsch felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and now that I'm leaving the program, well... It certainly was. I'm proud of the work and grateful to have collaborated with some wonderful EA folks, so this feels bittersweet.
I want to act according to my values, and wish that I could’ve expressed the above sentiments sooner. Stepping away from the network feels like the most appropriate path forward for me.
As for my future… I will continue playing the game, and finding ways to reconnect with it. I’m not quitting making stuff. Making stuff is so integral to my character that I don’t think I’d be able to operate normally without that aspect of my life. Once I’m ready, I’ll share what I’ve been cooking up over the last few weeks.
Thank you for reading. I appreciate your comments and wishes on my previous post, and I hope this follow-up clarifies it further. I’ll be ok, but I'm not so sure about The Sims.