Earlier today Electronic Arts announced plans to shutter some of their Facebook games in what was described as a difficult decision. The Sims Social, SimCity Social and Pet Society will go offline on June 14, 2013, the company said in a press release on the matter.
EA pointed out that millions of people initially logged in to play these games but since then, the number of players and the amount of activity has fallen off. This likely isn't a surprise to anyone that has seen other recent shutdowns of social games, EA said.
If you recall, EA filed a lawsuit against social games competitor Zynga last summer. EA said Zynga's 'The Ville' was essentially a direct copy of 'The Sims Social.' That lawsuit was settled back in February although terms of the settlement were not disclosed.
Players that have enjoyed these games will soon be given a special offer to introduce them to a new PopCap game. Details on this offer weren't mentioned but we are told they will appear in-game soon. If you have any in-game currency, it'd be wise to go ahead and spend it before the titles are shut down in a couple of months as it isn't clear if players will be given a refund on unused virtual currency or not.
Moving forward, the publisher will to continue to offer popular titles like Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz and Plants vs. Zombies Adventures on Facebook.