SimCity 2000 Special Edition is free on Origin right now. (Origin is Electronic Arts’ digital distribution platform, similar to Steam.) This is great news if you’re one of those people who have fond memories of playing this game back in the day. I played it as a kid with my brother, while others played it as younger adults. The series has evolved quite a bit since then, but SimCity 2000 remains a classic.
A word of caution, though — act quickly if you want it. EA reminds us Origin’s house specials “can appear and disappear at any time,” so there’s no way to know when exactly the game will stop being free. When it does, it’ll go back to its normal price of $5.99 (USD).
Developed by Maxis and designed by Will Wright and Fred Haslam, SimCity 2000 has had a few different editions. SimCity 2000 Special Edition is the one that’s free on Origin right now. It was originally released in 1995 for DOS and Windows, one year after the standard edition’s release. SimCity 2000 has also been released on a number of other platforms, including the SNES, the PlayStation, and the Saturn, among others.
SimCity 2000 Special Edition is an expanded version of the game containing all the expansions for the game. It also contains some other goodies:
- SimCity Urban Renewal Kit (allows you to create custom buildings and things for the game)
- Vol. 1 Scenario Pack
- Remade music
- New cities Maxis selected from a 1994 competition
- Bonus cities and scenarios
- Movies (SimCity 2000 was one of the first simulation games to feature actual movie files for things like its intro movie instead of animated bitmap images)
SimCity 2000 is a classic. Whether you have nostalgic memories of the game or just want to try it out, you should take advantage of this deal on Origin right now. It won’t be free forever, so don’t wait!
