It’s fair that SimCity review scores have been negatively impacted by the game’s server issues, says Maxis.

Polygon tracked down a copy of an internal email from Maxis general manager Lucy Bradshaw to her staff, which outlined what the company is doing to mitigate server problems, but also contained a small mea culpa.

"I'd like to say that it's not fair – that the game score shouldn't be punished for a server problem," wrote Bradshaw.

"But it is fair."

"SimCity is an online game and critics and consumers have every right to expect a smooth experience from beginning to end."

"I and the Maxis team take full responsibility to deliver on our promise," she wrote.

"Trust that we're working as hard as possible to make sure everyone gets to experience the amazing game we built in SimCity."

EA added three servers to the stricken game over the weekend, and another this morning.

Those efforts increased server response time by 40 per cent and doubled the number of players with simultaneous access to the game, said Maxis.

“The situation is good, but not good enough,” wrote Bradshaw.

“And since my boss is one of the negatively affected (!) - we’re still driving hard to get everyone online, playing together, and no hitches.”

Despite all the problems with the game’s launch, an offline mode would not be added, said Bradshaw.

“We have no intention of offlining SimCity any time soon but we'll look into that as part of our earning back your trust efforts,” reads a tweet from the official SimCity account.

However, Bradshaw later added, “The game was designed for MP, we sim the entire region on the server so this is just not possible.”

The online design was Maxis’ idea, not EA’s, said Bradshaw.

"Hey, this is on Maxis," she wrote.

"EA does not force design upon us. We own it, we are working 24/7 to fix it, and we are making progress."