SimEarth

electronic game

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Last updated

July 19, 2026

Quick Summary

SimEarth is an electronic game released in 1990, falling under the genre of electronic artificial life games. Developed by Will Wright and Maxis Software, it allows players to act as a world-builder. Players select landforms and climates for a planet, introduce primitive life forms, and observe if more advanced life develops. While it was not as successful as Wright's earlier hit, SimCity (1989), SimEarth was an early commercial example of artificial life (A-life) simulations, where players influence the evolution of life on a virtual planet.1

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electronic artificial life game
…first commercial A-life release was SimEarth (1990), a world-builder simulation for personal computers (PCs) in which players select from various landforms and climates for their planet, seed the planet with very primitive life forms, and wait to see if advanced life will develop. Compared with his hit electronic management game…
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…first commercial A-life release was SimEarth (1990), a world-builder simulation for personal computers (PCs) in which players select from various landforms and climates for their planet, seed the planet with very primitive life forms, and wait to see if advanced life will develop. Compared with his hit electronic management game…
Read More