EA Maxis revealed today that it is exploring the possibility of adding a long-requested offline mode to its city-building strategy game SimCity.

"Right now we have a team specifically focused on exploring the possibility of an offline mode," Maxis Emeryville's General Manager Patrick Buechner said. "I can't make any promises on when we will have more information, but we know this is something that many of our players have been asking for."

Overloaded servers and other issues left many SimCity players unable to access the online-only game after its launch earlier this year. Responding to player feedback, Maxis later noted that SimCity's online connection requirements were essential to the game's operation, though rumored insider claims and player mods suggested otherwise.

"While the server connectivity issues are behind us, we would like to give our players the ability to play even if they choose not to connect," Buechner adds. "An offline mode would have the additional benefit of providing room to the modding community to experiment without interfering or breaking the multiplayer experience."

Buechner notes that Maxis is also looking into the possibility of expanding player city size, and has opened discussion regarding support for user-generated content.