Former Firaxis director Jake Solomon said that he wants to start his studio, but it most likely won’t be another turn-based strategy game. He worked as the director for Marvel’s Midnight Suns and the XCOM franchise.
On an episode of the podcast My Perfect Console, Solomon explained, “After I made Midnight Suns I looked at, ‘ok, I’m going to make another turn-based strategy game, and am I excited about that?’”
He continued: “I found that I wasn’t that excited about doing another turn-based strategy game, not because the genre isn’t amazing. It’s where I’ve spent my life, but I felt like I didn’t have anything more to say in that area.”
When asked what kind of game he’d make, Solomon said that he’d most likely create a simulation game rather than another turn-based strategy one. He went on to explain that he can’t stray too far away from his expertise and that system design is important to him, as he designed the individual heroes, enemies, and abilities in Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
“My intention, if anybody gives me the funding for it, is to open my own studio locally and make a new kind of game,” Solomon said. “I can’t move too far away from what my experience is. I’m a creative director, but the truth is I’m actually a very in-the-weeds system designer.”
Solomon hasn’t officially announced a new studio just yet, but he left Firaxis last month after working for the studio for over two decades.
In IGN’s Marvel’s Midnight Suns review, we said, “Marvel’s Midnight Suns is an expansive tactical RPG that makes great use of card game mechanics to inject variety and unpredictability into its excellent combat.”
George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He’s been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.
When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey
