SimCity Social confirmed during EA's E3 press event

EA Maxis' Lucy Bradshaw took to the stage during EA's E3 2012 press conference to announce SimCity Social. The game was rumored as being in the works earlier this month.

The game was created through a collaboration between Maxis and Playfish and will launch "soon" on Facebook soon and is currently in closed beta.

“Facebook gamers have been waiting a long time for the original and best city-building game to come to the platform,” said Jami Laes, VP of global studios for Playfish. “This isn’t your typical drag and drop city-building game. Players don’t just build a city – they choose the kind of city they want and watch its soul come to life as it grows and reacts to their decisions.

"With SimCity Social, we’ve taken the best in social gaming design and married it with unprecedented depth to create an all-new deeply social experience.”

In SimCity Social, there are no set linear paths to follow; cities evolve as a direct result of player-driven choice allowing for more creative freedom.

As mayor, players will deal with unforeseen issues like fires, crime and pollution, and will make crucial decisions that will help them discover how their cities take shape.

Social interactions in go beyond just visiting friends’ cities or using them as resources for task completion as players can choose to build friendly relationships with other cities or form a rivalry through a dynamic and "ever-evolving friend and foe system."

Expect "unexpected gameplay events that shape the destiny of the city, and city-to-city relationships."

Shots are below.