Two key members of Firaxis Games leadership are leaving the company, as studio head Steve Martin and Marvel's Midnight Suns director Jake Solomon confirm their departure. It's a time of substantial transition at Firaxis Games. The studio is settling into post-launch support for Marvel's Midnight Suns and shifting toward the next Civilization game. Martin and Solomon, unfortunately, will not be a part of the next chapter of Firaxis.Firaxis Games is in a bit of a tumultuous position right now. This past week, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick confirmed that Firaxis' new game Marvel's Midnight Suns underdelivered commercially upon launch. Zelnick hoped that the XCOM-inspired tactical game would regain some momentum with post-launch content, but was considered a flop for the time being. While Zelnick attributed some of the game's problems to launching in December alongside The Callisto Protocol and High On Life, Firaxis likely took much of the blame itself.The official Firaxis Games Twitter account confirmed the departure of studio head Steve Martin. In a short letter, Martin told Firaxis fans that he's "tremendously grateful" to have led his team of talented developers for so long. Further, he expressed how proud he is of the games Firaxis has made and the reputation of the studio as it is. Martin has been president and studio head of Firaxis Games since 2006, and was CFO and COO for four years before that. Prior to that, Martin was corporate controller and director of HR at MicroProse Software, developer of the original Civilization.
Solomon's announcement regarding his departure from Firaxis came via his personal Twitter account. Solomon says that he fulfilled his lifelong dreams making XCOM, XCOM 2, and Marvel's Midnight Suns, and that he's the "luckiest kid who ever lived." He thanks Sid Meier, his Firaxis teammates through the years, and 2K for supporting his efforts. Solomon had been with Firaxis for 23 years, starting in a programming position working on Civilization 3.
The future for both former Firaxis leaders is unclear. Martin makes no mention of what he's planning to do next, saying only that he'll be cheering Firaxis on. Solomon's plans will be more interesting to fans of XCOM and Marvel's Midnight Suns. He says that his "brain is on fire with a new dream" that he'll be chasing.
Firaxis decided to deliver the bad news alongside some good, announcing that the next Civilization game is currently in development. Former Firaxis COO Heather Hazen will be stepping into the role of studio head, while Civilization 6 director Ed Beach will be continuing as creative director for Firaxis' next Civilization game.