Boom, that comes as a surprise. Jake Solomon had just torn at least an arm and a leg to put together Marvel’s Midnight Suns, now he announces his departure.
Uff, no one really expected that. Jake Solomon, who has been with Civilization developer Firaxis for 23 years and is also creative director for XCOM and Marvel’s Midnight Suns, is heading for new shores.
Solomon announced his departure from Firaxis a few minutes ago with warm thanks to the studio, his boss and mentor Sid Meier, and 2K as publisher. However, there is also a hint of bitterness. “I loved making turn-based tactics games, but now it’s time for smarter people to push the genre forward.”
All gratitude. pic.twitter.com/pqe56mVvd5
— Jake Solomon (@SolomonJake) February 17, 2023
But he already had a new dream in mind and it was time to pursue it. However, the previous statement is a bit suspicious, especially after the release of Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which received good reviews worldwide, but commercially fell far short of expectations. The question becomes all the more acute when you consider that Solomon and studio manager Steve Martin are leaving the company after 25 years.
A successor has already been announced, according to 2K’s press release: “As Studio Head, Heather Hazen will coordinate the development teams of Firaxis Games and implement the studio’s mission to create the best strategy games in the world. With 22 years of experience in the gaming and entertainment industry, came Hazen joined Firaxis Games as the studio’s Chief Operating Officer in 2020. Prior to that, she was Executive Producer on Fortnite at Epic Games and on Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled at PopCap Games.Hazen’s promotion comes at a time when longtime studio head of Firaxis, Steve Martin, is leaving the studio after more than 25 years.”
Almost sounds as if Firaxis wants to bring a breath of fresh air to the management level. However, fans of Marvel’s Midnight Suns don’t have to worry that the title will soon be idle. Firaxis plans to continue supporting the game with new content. At least three more DLCs that have already been announced will follow. After Deadpool, Venom will be the second DLC for Midnight Suns on February 23.
At the same time, 2K UK confirmed via Twitter that a new title in the Civilization series is currently being worked on. The same also appears in the official Civilization Twitter account. Lead designer Ed Beach is again used as bellwether for the new part – not without reason, Civilization VI was the best-selling part of the series so far.
Firaxis Games is one of the really big developer studios in the field of strategy games. With brands like Civilization and XCOM, they’ve created some of the best titles in the genre. Felix was allowed to visit the studio in Baltimore and speak extensively with the makers. Here comes the fascinating story of Firaxis Games.
