Maxis hiring for PC online simulation game

The Electronic Arts-owned Maxis studio will announce an action role-playing game set in the Spore universe at Comic-Con 2010 next week, but the developer is also seeking to employ an individual to work on a new online simulation game for the PC.

A job listing spotted by Superannuation asks for a development director for an unannounced "next-generation online simulation game" at the Maxis studio in Emeryville, California.

Although specifics on the project are unknown, EA is clearly looking for an experienced individual to help lead it. The listing requires its applicant to have more than five years of "project management experience on at least two shipped titles," one of which must be a PC game.

Additionally, the listing hints that work on the project is still in the earliest stages. Applicants must have "created a development plan for a title from concept to ship" to be considered for the position. As of press time, Electronic Arts has not responded to GameSpot's request for comment on the job listing.

It's unclear exactly how much of the game's focus will be on its online component, but Maxis has some experience on that front. EA launched The Sims Online, the company's attempt at a massively multiplayer online Sims experience, in 2002, only to close its doors in 2003. However, the game didn't die there. It was reborn in February 2008 as the free-to-play EA Land but was shut down permanently in August of that year.

Maxis was cofounded by industry veteran Will Wright in 1987 and was acquired by Electronic Arts in 1997. The studio is known for its experience within the simulation genre through games like the original SimCity and its follow-ups, The Sims series and 2008's Spore.