Jake Solomon is hitting it solo.
The Firaxis veteran established himself as a leader in the tactical genre with his work on XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2, and Marvel's Midnight Suns.
VGC last spoke with Solomon to discuss Midnight Sun in February 2023. A week later, he left the studio where he had worked for more than 20 years.
“I wasn’t drunk when I called, but maybe I was,” he laughs as we sit down to discuss his new studio, MidSummer Games. “People ask me if I quit of my own free will, and I did,” he recalls. “I really loved Firaxis, but I left Firaxis of my own free will.”
Founded by Solomon and other Firaxis veterans, the new studio is stepping out of the genre Solomon once called home and working on life sim games.
His departure came as a shock to fans due to the impact of the Marvel movie Midnight Sun. The game received warm praise from critics, but sales were also poor. However, when Solomon suddenly announced that he was leaving the studio, many wondered what he would do next.
“It was weird,” he says. “It was really weird not being there. I worked there for 23 years.”
However, Solomon does not leave Firaxis behind completely. “My new studio, we're all in the office. We have a floor of Firaxis' old office, and the first person we hired was Sid's son, Ryan Meyer. Firaxis is probably like, “What the hell are you doing?” I've also hired a lot of people from Firaxis. It doesn't feel like the old days are completely over. ”
One Meyer may be working with Solomon now, but his father, seminal strategy game designer Sid Meyer, remains at Firaxis, working on the next installment in the Civilization series. However, Solomon has not lost touch with his old master. “I still see Sid from time to time. He still stops by about once a month.”
“Firaxis is probably like, 'What the hell is this guy doing?'” I've hired a lot of Firaxis people, too. It doesn't feel like the old days are completely over. ”
If Firaxis is so close to Solomon's heart, and the new studio is made up of many of his former Firaxis associates, why did he leave? And we knew it wasn't a Firaxis game,” he explains. “I've had this idea for a while, especially when I was making 'Midnight Suns.'
We asked if he had talked to Firaxis or publisher Take-Two about this project. He laughed and asked if we were trying to get him to sue.
“I was asked what I wanted to do next. I had this in my head. I thought maybe I could make another one of my favorite games, Midnight Suns or XCOM. Those games were never that exciting to me.”
The as-yet-untitled life sim has been in development for some time, and Solomon recently completed a playable prototype. We hope to be able to share even more with the public next year.
“I was very naive about opening a studio. At the time I was like, 'How do I get funding?' I thought, 'If I say I'm Jake Solomon, I'll get funding.' ” he laughs. “That's not going to work.”
Solomon said he was extremely lucky to be able to find the funding, as the current climate in the game has caused some sleepless nights for veteran players. “I thought I might have to go back to Firaxis and ask if they needed a junior designer for the next Civilization.”
“I was very naive about opening a studio. At the time I was like, 'How do I get funding?' I thought, 'If I say I'm Jake Solomon, I'll get funding.' That won't work.''
Working on a life sim means entering a genre completely dominated by one game: The Sims. Naturally, we asked Solomon what's different about his new game and what Midsommar brings to the genre.
“We're definitely a life simulation, but we're more focused on the story and the relationships in the world,” he explains. “You can't play this game without writing a story. I think of it as much of a game as it is a toy. I think of it like a narrative Minecraft.”
While Solomon acknowledges that this is a departure from the past, he notes that his experience in the strategy and tactics genre has influenced the direction of the game. “We're using a lot of the same tricks we've always used. I know it sounds a lot different for people who play our stuff, but we're just getting back into our groove.” By the way.”
We spoke to Solomon in the week that Microsoft announced the closure of multiple Xbox studios. This comes at a time of studio closures and layoffs across the industry, so how does Solomon ensure Midsommar has the best chance?
“We know we have all this money, we know how much it costs each developer and we know how much time they have,” he says. “We're very transparent about it. It's pretty tough out there. His two years before this, if you were a director at Riot and you sneezed, you got $10 million in seed funding. I feel like there's a reconfiguration of the industry.”
Solomon also said the current state of the industry is the worst he has ever seen. “There have been so many layoffs that it feels like we could get away with another mass layoff now. I've never seen anything like that.”
And now that the dust has settled and the game has become a cult favorite, how does he feel about Midnight Sons?
“The most typical reaction when people play Midnight Suns is surprise, but that's not the reaction you want,” he laughs. “That’s not a response that would appeal to the masses.
“I think cards were a big problem. I think they were a good solution design-wise, but I think I was naive about what people thought when they saw the card mechanic. Everyone on my team loved the idea. They didn't necessarily agree with me, but they believed in me.”
