SimCity to get offline mode

Maxis has come good on hints it dropped in October by confirming the introduction of an offline mode to the controversial city building title.

SimCity offline is coming. I’ve wanted to say those words for quite some time,” Maxis Emeryville’s GM Patrick Buechner said.

Offline is coming as a free download with Update 10 to all SimCity players. When we launch it, all of your previously downloaded content will be available to you anytime, anywhere, without the need for an internet connection.

We are in the late phases of wrapping up its development and while we want to get it into your hands as soon as possible, our priority is to make sure that it’s as polished as possible before we release it. So, until then… testing, testing and more testing.

In Update 10, you can still play solo in Regions on your own, or in Multiplayer with people from around the world. What’s new is the Single Player Mode, which allows you to play the game Offline by yourself. And because your saved games in this mode are stored locally, you can save and load to your heart’s content.”

This also opens the doors to user modification of the game.

Bringing the game Offline means big things for our wonderful community of Modders,” Buechner added. They can now make modifications to the game and its components without compromising the integrity of the Online game. Modding is a big part of our studio’s legacy and we’re excited to see what you guys create.”