GameSpot reports what was already talked about at well known Civilization fansite Apolyton that longtime Firaxis coding God Soren Johnson has left their studio to join the ranks on the Spore team. Johnson who’s been synonymous with the success franchise Civilization for the past seven years returns to EA where he spent his first years in the gaming industry. This is what he has to say in his blog.

…working on a game like Spore and with the incredible team that Will Wright has assembled in Emeryville was an offer I couldn’t refuse. So, leaving the job that almost defined my life for many years to come to EA (technically, to come back to EA) was definitely a bittersweet moment.

What will this mean to the development of Spore? They will get a highly experienced and very able designer who’s worked on several successful games and will surely add even more depth to the team. Best of luck Soren!

GameSpot also has a bunch of ‘new’ screenshots, but if you are hardcore you’ll have most likely seen them since they’ve been previously shown at various web sites; including this one.

Kristen Salvatore, Executive Editor at PC Gamer got the chance to get a copy of the creature she made in Spore by using EA’s 3D printers. There have been talks on the possibility of letting gamers order their creations as real life figurines, we’ll see what happens once the game is out. Kristen’s creation looks neat.

Thanks to Felix H. Cat for the news tip.