system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:How can Cities:Skylines with a 13 people development team do so much better than the multi-million dollar EA's Sim City (2013)
gpt
Several factors which may or may not be the problem.

1, budget. You don't know the actual budget and type of deals "maxis" has with EA. They are given a budget, and they are tasked to produce a video game.

2, All the talent left. Maxis effectively doesn't exist. Was bought off and basically destroyed. Given worse condition, were tasked to work on projects they dind't wanted to, or with people they didn't like. Using methods and financing that wasn't optimal, etc.... So the people who were the creative directors, writers, artists, AI programmers (the original talent left). And the subsequent filling of the position from another EA owned franchises or even outsorced might not been omptimal.

3, Inconsistency. EA promises something, then it tasks Maxis to do it. Regardless if it's possible. So they try their best. New sim city might have been marketed as big true succesor of sim city. But they might not have been what the actual devs were told prior.

4, Actual evil - EA is a big corporation with the history of doing cruel, hearthless and dumb moves in order to gain short time boost of profit. Such as buying of franchises, and subsequently selling their next game, solely on name. Letting the game being average shovelware with slightly above average budget, and talent. Taking no risks whatsoever letting the franchise go dull.

Dead space 3 is considered not a horror game. Which is how Dead space was marketed. And is almost a platform for microtransactions. Which is weird, considering its a single player game.

Sims 4 is shell of what it was. Most things are missing, the things that work, are dull.

Dungeon keeper is mobile ported pay to win crap.

Only Bioware somehow is still holding above waters. But even then, you see the influence of EA on their games.