Game designer Will Wright begins working on what will become SimCity under the working title Micropolis.

Maxis is born after co-founders Jeff Braun and Will Wright meet. Braun agrees to fund the development of Wright’s city-building simulator.

SimCity is published in North America for the Amiga, Macintosh, IBM PC and Commodore 64. Later in 1989, the game is later released for the Atari ST.

SimCity is released for Nintendo’s Super NES platform in North America and Japan. The SNES version features seasonal graphics, bonus scenarios and a wacky city advisor named Dr. Wright.

SimCity 2000, the sequel to SimCity, is released for the Macintosh operating system. The game features different land elevations, underground layers, new facilities, a variety of power plants, neighboring cities, more elaborate budget and finance controls and disaster scenarios.

SimCity 2000 is released for Super NES, Saturn and Windows. It is later released for PlayStation, N64 and Game Boy Advance.

The Maxis studio is acquired by Electronic Arts.

SimCity 3000, the third instalment in the SimCity series, is released for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. It is the first SimCity game published by Electronic Arts. SimCity 3000 expands upon city management and business deals as well as featuring new advisors and petitioners, news tickers, real world landmarks and a live music score.

SimCity 4, the fourth generation, ships for Windows and Mac OS X platforms. It features a 3D graphics engine, day and night cycles and three modes: God Mode, Mayor Mode and My Sim Mode. Later in the year, Maxis releases Rush Hour: SimCity 4, an expansion pack with enhanced transportation and architecture options.

SimCity Societies is developed by Tilted Mill Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts for the Windows platform. The game focuses less on city planning and more on citizens and societal values. It features a high level of customization, from buildings to game rules and citizen behavior.

SimCity Creator is developed by Hudson Soft and released for Wii and Nintendo DS. The game features advanced zones, sophisticated transportation, customisable buildings based on several themes and the option to take overhead 3D tours of the city by helicopter or airplane.

SimCity Deluxe is released as an app for iPad and Android.

Maxis announces that SimCity is back, giving players the power to change the world once again.