Publisher retiring The Sims Social, SimCity Social, and Pet Society on June 14 due to inactivity.

Electronic Arts announced today that it will close Facebook games The Sims Social, SimCity Social, and Pet Society on June 14. The publisher called the decision to retire the games "difficult."

EA explained that though "millions" played each game initially, user activity has since fallen off. "For people who have seen other recent shutdowns of social games, perhaps this is not surprising," the company said in a statement.

Players with unspent in-game currency balances are encouraged to spend the remainder of their money before the games go offline. Virtual currency will become "invalid" when the games shut down and it is not clear if players will be able to secure a refund for any unspent funds.

EA will make a "special offer" available to players of the affected titles in the form of an unspecified PopCap game. Further details on this promotion will be made available in-game "soon," EA said.

Facebook games from EA that will live on include Bejeweled Blitz, Solitaire Blitz, and Plants vs. Zombies Adventures.

The Sims Social was at the heart of a recent lawsuit between EA and Zynga. EA claimed that Zynga's The Ville was a Sims Social clone, alleging that it represents an act of copyright infringement. Though EA called the suit a matter of principle, the case was settled with Zynga reportedly pleased with the result.

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