Former Firaxis Games creative director announces closure of Midsummer Studios

Midsummer Studios, co-founded by former XCOM designer Jake Solomon, is set to close its doors.

In a statement on social media, the CEO and creative director shared pre-alpha footage of the unreleased game Burbank before the studio closed.

“We built a studio, we made a game, and I’m really proud of both,” wrote Solomon. “This game was a dream of mine, our team made it come true, so watch and dream with us.”

In a follow-up post, Solomon clarified that the character performances were generated by AI.

“Our characters use AI for memory, reasoning and speech. That’s what lets you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write,” he said.

“But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI.”

Midsummer was co-founded by Solomon in 2024 with ex-Firaxis lead designer Will Miller and financial and operations management veteran Nelsie Birch.

It raised $6 million in a funding round led by Transcend Fund, with participation from Tirtra Ventures, Betaworks Ventures, 1 Up Ventures, F4 Fund, Krafton, and Day Zero Productions.