Midsummer Studios announced, is a new veteran developer team making a Life Sim
Some big names have gotten together and announced a new development studio called Midsummer Studios, and the team is making a new Life Sim.
Midsummer Studios is made up of Jake Solomon and Will Miller, formerly of Firaxis (XCOM), as well as Nelsie Birch, and Grant Rodiek (EA and Maxis), and the team says it plans to “revitalize the Life Sim genre, empowering players to create and share meaningful stories through play.”
Jake Solomon, CEO and Creative Director
Jake Solomon (pictured above), CEO and Creative Director of Midsummer Studios said: “The best stories in games are written by the players,” adding: “At Midsummer we’re making a life sim focused on the drama of modern life, where our players will write meaningful stories just by playing, and then share those stories with the world.”
Soloman was the Designer and Director on Marvel’s Midnight Suns as well, while Miller worked on Civilization: Beyond Earth, as well as being Lead Engineer of Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Nelsie Birch (pictured below) is newer to games, but the studio says she’s had high profile financial and operational jobs, and the studio is also joined by other experienced talent from Firaxis titles.
Nelsie Birch, COO/CFO
The studio is launching with $6 million raised from major investors, with Transcend leading the round, along with Tirta Ventures, Betaworks Ventures, 1Up Ventures, F4 Fund, Krafton, and Day Zero Productions.
“Leading the Seed for Midsummer was a natural fit for Transcend. As a Producer on The Sims myself nearly twenty years ago, I am well acquainted with the power that meaningful player-driven stories can unlock. I also have an abiding respect for how hard it is to deliver the alchemy of community, systems design, gameplay, and user generated content necessary to do so. The Midsummer founders are industry veterans with the rare experience and design artistry required to deliver against this massive opportunity. I am delighted to join the board and support their journey to redefine the Life Sim category.” said Shanti Bergel, Founding Partner at Transcend.
The studio has launched a website, which you can check out, here.
