After a long tenure atFiraxis Games,XCOMandMarvel’s Midnight Sunsdirector Jake Solomon is about to leave the company to establish his own development studio that won’t focus on producing an all-new turn-based strategy game. A recent interview with Solomon has revealed that he’s got big plans for his next project and he’s excited to try something new.
The fact thatJake Solomon is leaving Firaxis Gameswas officially announced a few weeks ago, with the affected parties separating on amicable terms. Solomon appears to have simply been ready to move on to different things, and the only potential problem for his previous company is that the studio head, Steve Martin, ended up leaving as well, which may or may not lead to a tumultuous time for the developer of theCivilization franchise.
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Solomon’s time atFiraxis Gameshas helped define the studio through some monumental releases, one of the most notable of which is the revival of the reveredXCOMfranchise. Now, however, it would appear that the former Firaxis director aims to tackle entirely different genres. During his talk with journalist Simon Parkin on the “My Perfect Console” podcast, as reported by VGC, Solomon said that “[he] found that [he] wasn’t that excited about doing another turn-based strategy game.” The issue wasn’t with the genre itself, according to Solomon. Instead, he’d just like to “do a whole new thing and be completely in charge of it,” rather than sticking with something tried and true.
Even thoughMarvel’s Midnight Sunsunderperformed, this doesn’t seem to have affected Solomon all that much. Instead, Solomon said that he was inspired by Sid Meier’s own success in the industry and felt that the time was right for him to do something new and different. “I want to make a systems-based game,” said Solomon, clarifying that he wishes for it to be “more of a life simulator or a simulation-style game.” This may end up resulting in something along the lines of an immersive sim, such asDishonoredorPrey, though it’s still too early to say.
While Jake Solomon may be primarily known for his input on theXCOMandMidnight Sunstitles, he also had a hand in working on the seminalCivilizationreleases. Now thatFiraxis officially announcedCivilization 7, it’s going to be interesting to see how the franchise continues without some of the studio’s most tenured and experienced employees.
Solomon’s departure may be particularly problematic for therumoredXCOM 3title, though this is unlikely to get an official announcement anytime soon. Since Solomon’s input defined theXCOMgames from the very start, Firaxis may find it more challenging to come up with new features, systems, and concepts for the third mainline title while maintaining the vibe of the previous entries. Whether that ends up being an issue, however, is anyone’s guess at this point in time.
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