The Sims might have another competitor from XCOM’s designer
The designer behind Firaxis Games’ highly successful XCOM reboot isn’t sure what he’ll do next with the studio he’s starting, but he wants to try something different from the turn-based genre he made his name with.
“I found myself not too excited about doing another turn-based strategy game,” Jake Solomon explained Simon Parkin’s My Perfect Console podcast. (Also available on Spotify.) “Not because the genre isn’t great – it’s where I’ve spent my life – but I felt like I had nothing left to say in that area.”
A month ago, Solomon announced he was leaving Firaxis after 23 years – literally the only job he’s had since graduating in May 2000. The news coincided with another big change at Firaxis; studio head Steve Martin left after 25 years, although he did announce it Civilization 7 was under development on the way out.
Solomon’s farewell thanked 2K Games and Firaxis for “23 great years”, saying that he “has loved designing tactical turn-based games, but it’s time for other smarter people to push that space forward.”
Interestingly, in Parkin’s podcast, Solomon mentioned that Firaxis founder Sid Meier had started several studios and projects of his own. “I thought to myself, if I ever start my own company […] I feel like I can do this, do something completely new and be totally in charge of it, and that was just too exciting for me,” said Solomon.
Solomon’s new studio doesn’t have a name yet – he’s also still looking for funding. So the question of what his first game might be is also up in the air. But when asked what he meant by trying new things, Solomon replied that he was interested in “something more of a life simulator or simulation game”. EA and Maxis could sweat at the idea of even more competition for The Sims 5who is already facing Paradox’s Life through you and that of Alex Massé Paralives.
“I’m a creative director, but the truth is I’m actually a very weedy systems designer,” says Solomon (whose degree is in computer science). “Even on Midnight sunbathingI had some great designers, but I ended up designing individual heroes, enemies and their abilities.
Solomon was the lead designer for 2012 XCOM: Unknown Enemy, a game-of-the-year pick for many critics. He directed the 2016 sequel, xcom 2, also a critical and commercial success. Most recently he directed Marvel’s Midnight Sunwhich was rated well but was a sales disappointment, according to an interview with the parent company’s CEO.