EA Shutters Playfish Games

EA announced that on June 14, 2013, SimCity Social, The Sims Social, and Pet Society will be closed down. According to EA, "the number of players and amount of activity has fallen off." After this announcement, it appears that every Playfish game has been shut down with the exception Madden Social 13, developed by EA Tiburon, as Joystiq noted.

While these games will no longer be available after June 14th, EA is encouraging players to spend the remainder of their in-game currency (eg. SimCash, Diamonds, Pet Society Cash) before the game is retired. However, if players still possess Playfish cash cards, they are also encouraged to redeem those before the end date. If the cards are not redeemed, players must contact customer service.

EA stated that they will continue to support the social games ecosystem, providing many hit titles by PopCap, including Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz, and Plants vs. Zombies Adventures. Even though many players spent hours in Playfish games, EA wants to ensure a smooth transition to PopCap titles and will be making a "special offer to introduce you to a PopCap game."

EA recently has been going under significant restructuring, including the recent layoffs at EA Montreal, the resignation of former CEO John Riccitiello, and the closing of Bioware San Francisco.

Source: Electronic Arts