Jake Solomon shuts Midsummer Studios, reveals AI life sim Burbank in farewell trailer

"Watch and dream with us" - Jake Solomon's studio is closing, and the XCOM veteran shares a glimpse of the "Life Sims + The Truman Show" game he was making

Jake Solomon, a decorated game designer known for his work at Firaxis on games like XCOM and Marvel Midnight Suns, has announced that his studio Midsummer is going to close. In doing so, he also shared a pre-alpha look at the "Life Sims + The Truman Show" game the studio was making, called Burbank. Solomon didn't elaborate on the reasons for closure in the statement he released on X. "We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both," he wrote. "Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into." Burbank seems to be a game about making TV shows with a cast of characters you can pick up and drop into various customisable situations. It reminds me a lot of Lionhead's The Movies. The Burbank trailer shows somewhat action-figure-like people leading dramatic lives in a small-town location, which you watch as though you would a soap opera on TV. The trailer then reveals that you're the one directing it, choosing the characters who'll be the stars and then adding a support cast from bundles of support cast characters. Then you choose a broad outline for the episode, establish character motivations and behaviour, and go on to unlock new cast abilities as you play. The alluring part seems to be that you're not totally in control, which means your actors and characters have minds of their own, so finding out what they'll do when placed in certain situations becomes a key part of the game. You set their parameters and then watch to see what you've created. Jake Solomon explained: "It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show', but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank lets you do that. "We have moments playing this game where characters come alive in a way we've never experienced. And for an old game developer like me that's special [...] This game was a dream of mine, our team made it come true, so watch and dream with us." He later added: "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. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI." That is the only other comment he made. It's a surprising announcement and it's sad, and it's also slightly strange in that it doesn't unequivocally state that this game's journey is over. The language used seems to suggest Burbank could live on, but if the studio is about to close, how could that be? Jake Solomon has given no previous indication the studio was in trouble. His last post on LinkedIn, made three months ago, had him saying he was "excited to share more about what we're building soon". We last spoke to Solomon in 2024, a couple of years after Marvel's Midnight Suns had charmed us, and after Solomon had left Firaxis to create his own studio and spin-up this new game idea. In that interview, he said Midsummer had been backed by venture capitalists and received funding from PUBG maker Krafton. I'm assuming that money has now run out. Solomon also talked more about the thinking behind Burbank, and the 'create your own stories' idea. Marvel's Midnight Suns was released in 2022. It's a card-based, turn-based spin on creating your own Marvel superhero team - and Marvel superhero - and then saving the day. And very good it was too. "Great tactical fun nestled in a sweet-natured superhero dollhouse," wrote Christian Donlan in our Marvel's Midnight Suns review.

XCOM boss's new studio evidently shutting down without releasing a game: Jake Solomon shares AI-powered build of The Sims meets The Truman Show "before we close the doors"

Jake Solomon is strategy gaming royalty, having worked on numerous Firaxis classics before leading the beloved 2012 XCOM reboot at the studio. He left Firaxis in 2023 to co-found Midsummer Studios, but sadly it seems the company is shutting down before it could ship its first game: an AI-powered life sim that could be succinctly described as The Sims meets The Truman Show. "We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both," Solomon says on Twitter. "Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into. It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show,' but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let's you do that." Solomon describes the gameplay footage in this trailer as "definitely pre-alpha," and he ain't kidding - you're going to see a lot of awkward voice acting and animation in the trailer below. But there's a spark of something interesting here. This is a Sims-style sandbox game where your characters' storylines play out as TV dramas in genres ranging from soap opera to sci-fi epic. You might get an uncanny feeling watching some of those character performances, and yes, they are driven by AI. "Our characters use AI for memory, reasoning and speech," Solomon explains in a follow-up tweet. "That's what let's [sic] you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI." Solomon co-founded Midsummer in 2024 alongside fellow Firaxis veteran Will Miller, with an initial press release noting that the studio had $6 million in investment to make "a next-gen Life Sim that emphasizes player-driven narratives." The studio also boasted of talent including long-time employees at The Sims developer Maxis, so the life sim pedigree was strong. Burbank seems like a fun concept on its face - not far off from The Movies, a cult-favorite strategy gameled by Peter Molyneux - though I'm certainly skeptical any game doing live, AI-driven content generation could really capture players' imaginations. Still, it's beyond disappointing to see yet another team of industry veterans seemingly forced to shut down before they can bring their project to life.

Former XCOM Director Jake Solomon Announces Shock Closure of Studio Making 'Next-Gen' Life Sim, Publishes Trailer as a Farewell - IGN

Veteran game designer Jake Solomon has announced the shock closure of his studio and the apparent cancellation of its "next-gen" life simulation game, while publishing a glimpse at how it worked. Solomon is famed for his work on the XCOM franchise at Firaxis, though began his career as a programmer on Civilization 3. Solomon was also creative director of the beloved Marvel's Midnight Suns, though departed Firaxis following its poor commercial performance. In May 2024, Solomon announced Midsummer Studios, a fresh outfit founded by himself and other former Firaxis talent, with a goal to make a "next-generation entry to the life sim genre." But now, just 21 months later, Midsummer is closing, and its life sim project appears to have been scrapped mid-development. "We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both," Solomon wrote in a post on social media. "Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into. "It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show,' but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let's you do that." The trailer, above, shows players being able to create characters with detailed backstories, then place them in TV show-like scenes where they can direct interactions and watch as stories develop. Over time, the digital actors playing these characters can level up, new types of interaction can be unlocked, and more locations for the story to develop in can be unlocked. One moment sees the player unlocking the ability to place their characters in The Office-style talking heads interviews, then prompt them with a specific question. "We have moments playing this game where characters come alive in a way we've never experienced," Solomon continued. "And for an old game developer like me that's special. What you're about to see is definitely pre-alpha. But 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 yes, as the trailer certainly appears to suggest, AI is heavily used within the game, including for characters' voices. "Our characters use AI for memory, reasoning and speech," Solomon added. "That's what let's you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI." Elements of the concept appear somewhat similar to Nintendo's Tomodachi Life series (although that uses gibberish rather than actual voices, and is meant to feel more random, rather than allowing for the detailed prompting of scenarios). Several responses to Solomon's post also likened the idea to that of Lionhead Studios' classic The Movies. As yet, it's unclear what Solomon's next plans are. IGN has contacted Midsummer Studios for more.