Jake Solomon and Steve Martin have announced their departure from Firaxis Games, following a two decade career with the studio. Solomon was the creative director of the XCOM franchise and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Martin acted as the development studio’s head, leading the studio through momentous projects that shaped the gaming industry.
In his statement on Twitter, Solomon briefly reflected on his time with the developer, the experiences that he gained, and the support he had from fellow employees and his mentor Sid Meyers, creator of the Civilization games. During his career with Firaxis Games, Solomon was the creative director for the XCOM franchise and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
“I’m a big dreamer, and I fulfilled two lifelong dreams in making XCOM (and XCOM 2, and War of the Chosen) and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.” I’m the luckiest kid who ever lived. X-COM was my favourite game growing up; it’s why I’m a game developer. Marvel comics made me a dreamer, and those characters feel like my extended family…I loved designing tactical turn-based games, but its time for other, smarter people to push that space forward.”
Martin was equally grateful in his own statement, sharing his happiness for being able to lead “…a talented group of people for the past decades at the greatest studio in the world.”
Solomon and Martin’s announcements come after the disappointing launch of Marvel’s Midnight Suns. However, in statement to VGC by 2k Games, one of Firaxis’ parent organizations, the two events aren’t related.
“Jake Solomon is leaving Firaxis Games on good terms after more than two decades at the studio,” it said. “Jake was instrumental in building the XCOM franchise and creating a wonderful new adventure in Marvel’s Midnight Suns. We have deep appreciation for his work and can’t wait to see what he does next.
“We are proud of what the team achieved with Marvel’s Midnight Suns, which was well-received by critics, Marvel fans and tactics players alike. We are excited for the future of Firaxis Games under new studio head Heather Hazen’s leadership, which includes confirmation that Firaxis is in development of the next Civilization game.
“We are focused on delivering our post-launch DLC content for Marvel’s Midnight Suns. The next DLC ‘Redemption’ – featuring Venom – is coming out on February 23.”