The legendary designer behind The Sims and Spore, Will Wright, announced yesterday that he will be leaving EA to start a new ‘think tank’ that will have the publishers backing.

‘Stupid Fan Club’ as the think tank will be known “will explore new possibilities that are emerging from this sublime chaos and create new forms of entertainment on a variety of platforms. In my twelve years at EA, I’ve had the pleasure to work alongside some of the brightest and most talented game developers in the industry and I look forward to working with them again in the near future.”

The think tank is due to develop a number of intellectual properties that will be deployed across “multiple fronts including video games, movies, television, the internet, and toys”.

This will allow Wright to explore new projects although EA will retain the right to develop any games they choose based on Stupid Fan Club projects.

Wright’s first game was Raid on Bungeling Bay in 1984 although it was his part in the development of Sim City that shot him to fame. He is also credited as being one of the principle designers of The Sims series which as of 2008 became the best selling PC game in history. His most recent work, the critically acclaimed Spore, sold 1 million copies within three weeks of its release.

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