EA Tapped Out Of The Simpsons

The Simpsons: Tapped Out is no more. Electronic Arts (EA) announced that the game would be sunsetted in October 2024, when downloads of the game would be stopped. And on January 24, 2025, the game would not be playable anymore. No reason was given for the decision to shutter the game. 

They said in a Facebook post via Deadline: 

"The decision to end our twelve-year journey is an emotional one. Together with our partners at The Simpsons and The Walt Disney company, we have delighted in bringing this game to you, the fans, and seeing how you’ve each built your own beloved versions of Springfield. It has been a remarkable journey, and we are grateful that we’ve been able to deliver 308 updates, 831 characters and including today’s final farewell 1,463 questlines. As our journey comes to a close, we offer our sincerest thanks to you, the players, who have made this all possible.”

When the game debuted, it was an immediate hit. It topped the game charts on the App Store and The Google Play Store. EA was pleased with the results. 

It was also one of the first mainstream games to utilize the freemium model. This brought controversy to the game. However, it also helped it become one of the most profitable games in the early years of the game. 

Did the freemium controversy finally catch up to the game and that's why EA shuttered it? Or is there another reason why they chose to end it when a sudden surge in popularity seemed all but guaranteed?

Tapped Controversy

When The Simpsons: Tapped Out was released, there were not a lot of games using the freemium model. Freemium is when a game is free to purchase and play, but there are ways to make gameplay easier by spending money in the app. 

In its first year, the game made tens of millions of dollars for EA. Executives at the company touted how incredible daily plays were in 2014, saying that the game helped them beat revenue expectations. Things were good, there was reason for celebration on the business side of things.

They said: 

"Inside our digital portfolio, December was EA's biggest month ever for mobile downloads, with over 71 million game downloads across the App Store and Google Play, the most of any game publisher worldwide. The Simpsons: Tapped Out reached a record level of daily active users during the holiday quarter..."

However, some fans were disgruntled because of the model. They complained that having to pay for certain things made it impossible for them to enjoy the game. 

Those fans said that there should be options for them to get some of the advantages that the players willing to pay were given. There was pushback on that argument because execs wondered what would happen if those who paid would still use their cash for gameplay if everyone got the same benefits. 

The debate raged so much that Comedy Central's flagship show, South Park, got involved in the conversation. They unveiled the episode, "Freemium Isn't Free," which satirized The Simpsons: Tapped Out and other games using the model. 

Overnight, the episode became a classic. 

But is that why EA decided to shut down the game?

Tapped Out

The simple answer is no, a 13-year-old controversy and an 11-year-old sitcom episode are not the reasons that EA shut The Simpsons: Tapped Out down. While executives have not come out and said why they made the decision, there are a couple of theories. 

One popular theory is that the game was not as popular as it once had been. Fewer users likely equated to less revenue coming in for the game. And while  The Simpsons: Tapped Out had a loyal community of players, if the number was shrinking, it was inevitable that Ea would lose money on it. 

A financially sound reason. 

There is another reason, one that has nothing to do with the amount of players. That reason being that EA no longer had the license to The Simpsons characters. 

In 2005, EA and 20th Century Fox entered into an agreement that allowed the former to create games using characters from The Simpsons. At the time, it was called a landmark deal. 

And while the deal was profitable for both companies, a few things happened along the way that made a renewal less likely. 

The biggest thing was 20th Century Fox being sold to Disney in 2019. It is thought that the Mouse House wanted to bring their new intellectual properties all under one roof after the deal with EA ended. 

There is a silver lining for the fans of The Simpsons: Tapped Out and/or The Simpsons franchise, Disney is likely already working on a new game for them. Especially given the outpouring of love for the now former mobile game. 

A new game won't be the same as Tapped Out, but then nothing will be. That game was beloved for a reason, it was innovative in a lot of ways.