sims4news:

SimGuruLyndsay made the announcement today on the forums:

I have some important news to share with you all today. It’s never easy to say goodbye but today, we wish a fond farewell to our friend and colleague Rachel Franklin. She has decided to leave Maxis to explore new opportunities. We’re going to miss her creative spark, her infectious enthusiasm, and the passion that she brought to the studio every day. I can definitely say I’m excited to see what she does next and will be cheering her on!

Rachel leaves Maxis stronger than ever. We’re all so excited by the incredible passion we see from you in The Sims 4 nearly two years after we first released the game. We’ve proven to you our commitment to regularly providing new experiences, like the recent Dining Out Game Pack and expansion to Create A Sim, and that won’t change. We’ve got lots more planned for the months and years ahead that we can’t wait to share with you.

We have a strong leadership team in place at Maxis and we’re focused on one thing: delivering great things to you, our players. We’re looking to fill Rachel’s shoes, but in the meantime myself and all the other SimGurus will continue to connect with you and share our enthusiasm for the game and new things to come.

Many are wondering what this means for the future of the franchise. While no one can be sure what the future holds, if you are unhappy with the direction The Sims 4 has taken, this could be a very good thing indeed!

Drake confirmed that: “Rachel chose to leave EA and Maxis to pursue a new opportunity, it was 100% her decision.” Unrest is at an all-time high in The Sims community. People have always been vocal about their issues with The Sims 4, but recently there have been City Life leaks, SimGuruDrake forum fights, general communications issues, and a very long news/content drought, so it’s no wonder that she left.

Don’t get too excited, though. She could still be replaced by someone far, far worse. We’ll have to wait a long time to see the impact this will have on The Sims 4 and beyond. As always, I’m hoping for the best but keeping my expectations to a minimum!

This could be very good or very bad for TS4.