The new SimCity is coming in early 2013, Electronic Arts has announced, giving you a precise month to look forward to building your horrible coal dystopia. Its February release suggests the game has come a long way from the concept videos shown at GDC a few months ago.

The announcement came from EA touting its E3 line-up, so we're sure to see more of the game next week. What we've seen so far has been impressive, and might just whet the appetite of eager city-builders who have gone too long without terrorizing a virtual population. EA can't have expected us to only terrorize four or five people at a time with The Sims forever, right?