Strategy Game Developer Midsummer Studios Shuts Down
Midsummer Studios, co-founded by former XCOM designer Jake Solomon, has closed down. The studio's unreleased life simulation game, codenamed Burbank, has now been shared publicly as pre-alpha footage. The closure is a notable event in the indie strategy and simulation game development space, reflecting the high risks involved in creating ambitious new titles.
- The studio had raised $6.6 million in total, starting with a $6 million seed round from investors like Transcend Fund and Korean publisher Krafton, and securing an additional $600,000 in late 2025. - Co-founder Jake Solomon departed a 23-year career at Firaxis Games, where he directed the modern *XCOM* series and *Marvel's Midnight Suns*, to start the new venture, stating his "brain is on fire with a new dream." - The development team included other notable industry veterans, such as Grant Rodiek, who had been a producer and director on *The Sims* franchise for 18 years at Maxis. - The unreleased game "Burbank" used AI to generate character memory, reasoning, and speech, a feature intended to allow players to create unique interactive stories. - Solomon clarified the use of AI was to empower player creativity and not to replace artists, stating, "all of our art is created by our talented artists." - The game's core concept was a life sim combined with elements of "The Truman Show," where players would manage the lives of a cast of characters within a player-directed narrative. - The closure reflects a difficult funding environment for the independent games sector, which has seen numerous studios shut down amid increased competition and investor caution.
