Jake Solomon announces sudden closure of Midsummer Studios

Midsummer Studios founder and former Firaxis creative director Jake Solomon announced the abrupt closure of Midsummer on X and shared a two-minute gameplay video of its life sim, Burbank — the first public showcase of the planned Sims competitor. "We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both," Solomon wrote.

"Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into. It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show,' but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up.

Burbank lets you do that." Solomon spent 23 years at Firaxis, first working on Civilization before leading design on the rebooted XCOM series. His final game with Firaxis was Marvel's Midnight Suns in 2022, which earned an 88% review and a GOTY Runner-up award, but still underperformed sales-wise.

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