Here is a screenshot of the new Main Menu for the game. Here you see two options, "Single-Player" and "Multiplayer". You will be able to switch back and forth between them so that you can still enjoy the benefits of the Online game (Multiplayer) or unplug and fly solo in Single-Player. Once you've put your game into Single-Player Mode, you won't have to go Online again if you don't want to. You can launch the game straight from your launcher, without an internet connection.

You're already familiar with what Multiplayer entails, it's the game that you're currently playing today and all of that will remain unchanged. Let's talk about the new Single-Player Mode.

It was our goal to make the Single-Player experience feel just as expansive and engaging as the Multiplayer mode. That meant that the core fundamentals of the game needed to remain intact: multi-city play, Regional interdependence, and city specializations. Every Region, building and core gameplay concept remains intact. When you lay down a road, when the Sims move in – this will all look and feel the same whether you play Online or Offline.

You can manage as many cities as you'd like within a Region and because they are stored locally, you have more options on how you decide to Save and Reload them. The new “Save As” option allows you to create multiple versions of your Regions and now you can turn off AutoSave completely so that you have full control over the save states of your Regions. This opens up more options for you to prod, tinker, and most importantly, destroy all of your little creations. I know that I can't help but get a kick out of unleashing a giant lizard attack on my unsuspecting Sims without the fear of losing my progress.

It's important to us that you retain control of the game you purchased and all the content associated with it. All of your previously downloaded content will be available for you to use in both Modes. This includes any of the Regions we've given away throughout the past year and any DLC you own.

So, what's different in Single-Player Mode?

Players who choose to play Single-Player Mode will not have access to Online-only features such as Multiplayer, SimCity World, Leaderboards, Achievements, dynamic pricing of resources in the Global Market and Cloud Saves. I also want to point out that saved Regions cannot be transferred between Modes. This means that if you play a Region in Single-Player Mode, you will not be able to play it in Multiplayer. We want to keep the competitive aspects of the Online game intact.

Offline Play opens up a whole new world of possibilities for our Modders. They’ll now be able to Mod components of the game without harming the integrity of the Online game. It’s more than just buildings and palette swaps, they’ll be able to dig into the UI, modify the simulation and more. Yes we’ve mentioned Oppie’s Train Station in the past, but check out Guillaume’s fun UI Mods over at Simtropolis. Maxis has a long history of supporting Mods and we continue to be Mod friendly to this day. Take a look at our past if you want an idea of how we intend to manage our community of Modders for this SimCity.