Former Maxis Creative Director Matt Brown Returning For New Sims Game

Matt brown, responsible for shaping much of The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 in its defining years, is returning to Maxis in a new advisory position. A recent update to his LinkedIn profile confirms his involvement in The Sims franchise, most likely Project X. It's the first time in a long time that one of the franchise's most influential leads is back with the team, and his experience with storytelling systems makes this notable for fans of the franchise.

Matt Brown's Previous Experience

Back in January, we covered an AMA that Brown had run on Reddit, answering fan questions on design and behind-the-scenes info. He discussed design choices that still shape how players remember those games today, and he was open about the challenges of building a life simulator from scratch while still reflecting The Sims' original design philosophy.

Brown had left Maxis twice, once in 2008 and again in 2018. He was a Technical Director and Lead Designer on The Sims 2 Base Game and its associated Expansion Packs, and The Sims 3 Base Game before launch. In 2018, he returned for what he called the "apology tour" of The Sims 4, during which the team added long-missed base game features, including Toddlers. From there, Brown worked on every Expansion and Game Pack up to Parenthood.

He was also responsible for overseeing many of the diversity and inclusion efforts for The Sims 4, something many players (and developers) are worried will be cut back on post-buyout. Hopefully, his past experience in this area will continue over to the development of Project X.

SimCity X (2006)

Not only did Matt Brown work on The Sims, but he was also part of the two different SimCity teams across both his tenures. First was "SimCity X" in 2006, a SimCity game designed to also be played on consoles. SimCity X would have run on the "Build n’ Play" philosophy rather than "Plant n' Grow", which players were used to. This may have developed into SimCity Societies (released 2007), which ran on these principles, with cities having personalities. The development manifesto mentions many different tested systems and how it would work in comparison to the traditional SimCity titles.

SimCity "Edison" (2018)

After Brown's return to Maxis, he worked on a team prototyping an unreleased SimCity title nicknamed "Edison". This title was ultimately scrapped; however, there are a few things we can deduce from the work presented by Brown.
One of the prototyped features looks to be factions within a player's city, each with their own ideals and values. One image is labelled "Multiplayer madness", so it seems as though SimCity Edison was intended to be multiplayer at one stage. The idea of a multiplayer SimCity game was previously attempted in 2013, and as many will know, it did not turn out to be a success. In another screenshot, we can see world editing tools such as terrain manipulations, animals (previously seen in SimCity 4) and features such as waterfalls and volcanoes.

Potential Role In Project X

With The Sims Project X "going gold" before September 1st 2027, it is likely that the game is already well past the prototype stage. While neither Maxis nor Brown has listed the exact job responsibilities anywhere, Brown's LinkedIn description of the role reads:

This could mean many things. In his Reddit AMA, Brown mentioned the core philosophy of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, a system that the Sims is built on, and that shapes the way in which Sims interact with the world. Brown was previously responsible for the genetics, behaviour, and emergent narrative gameplay within The Sims 2 Base Game, so if that is anything to go by, Project X is looking to go back to those principles.

What are your thoughts on Matt Brown's new Advisory role at Maxis? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for all news on Project X!