EA disabling 'non-critical' SimCity features to address server woes

In an effort to address ongoing server issues, Electronic Arts is preparing to deploy a SimCity hotfix that disables some "non-critical" features and also provides "various improvements."

"We are continuing to do everything we can to address the server issues. In the meantime, so that we can give you as good an experience as possible, we are in the process of deploying a hotfix to all servers," wrote an EA community manager in the SimCity forums.

"This includes various improvements and also disables a few non-critical gameplay features (leaderboards, achievements, and region filters). Disabling these features will in no way affect your core gameplay experience."

EA said it will continue to update the community as more information becomes available. "Getting you playing is our absolute highest priority," the company said.

SimCity launched Tuesday in North America and was beset by various server issues that in some instances have kept gamers from logging in. EA said yesterday that it is "confident" that such issues will be resolved for the game's United Kingdom launch tomorrow.