SimCity Social is being co-developed by EA Playfish and EA subsidiary Maxis. The game will feature the same core gameplay of SimCity, which is a management sim where players are cast as the mayor of a newly-established town. Players are encouraged to build their cities in an open, nonlinear manner and have to deal with issues like rising crime rates, demand for different types of properties and making sure the city has enough power to keep everyone's lights on. EA is promising the game will deliver a deep gameplay experience, but it will have a simplified user interface to ensure the game is simultaneously appealing to both core and casual gamers.

Admittedly, SimCity Social looks quite a bit like the big kid on the block, CityVille from Zynga. But that's kind of the point, isn't it? EA looks to make good on its mission to finally beat the king of social gaming, and you could say this is the publisher's wild card.

SimCity Social doesn't have a launch date yet, but EA says the game is in closed beta and promises it will arrive on Facebook soon.