Video games business veteran Jake Solomon has shared the primary footage of his subsequent sport, but it surely comes as a part of the developer additionally stating that his studio is shutting down and the sport might by no means launch.
After spending 20+ years at Firaxis, Solomon based Midsummer Studios in 2024 with the formidable mission assertion that it will “reinvent the life sim genre.” The corporate stated on the time that it raised greater than $6 million from a wide range of buyers, but it surely appears Midsummer will shut with out releasing any video games.
Solomon stated he’s “actually proud” of the studio and the sport that Midsummer was engaged on, which was known as Burbank. It was a “dream” sport for him. He stated the studio wished to point out the sport “earlier than we shut the doorways at Midsummer Studios” so the world can see what the group was engaged on.
We constructed a studio, we made a sport, and I am actually happy with each. Earlier than we shut the doorways at Midsummer Studios I would wish to share a glimpse of Burbank, the sport we poured our hearts into.
It is like “Life Sims + The Truman Present,” but it surely’s greater than that. I consider persons are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZO
— Jake Solomon (@SolomonJake) February 19, 2026
He described Burbank as a “life sim + The Truman Present,” but in addition one thing that’s “greater than that.” The sport would have allowed individuals to “create your personal TV present, simply by taking part in a sport,” or no less than that was the concept.
“I consider persons are storytellers, and I would like them to share no matter tales and characters they’ll dream up. Burbank let’s you try this. Now we have moments taking part in this sport the place characters come alive in a means we have by no means skilled,” he stated. “And for an previous sport developer like me that is particular.”
The footage is from a pre-alpha model of Burbank. It’s possible you’ll rapidly discover that among the voices look like AI-generated, and that appears to be the case. Solomon said the sport utilized AI for “reminiscence, reasoning, and speech” for its characters.
“That’s what let’s you create anybody you need and drop them in any story you write. However all of our artwork is created by our proficient artists. We had little interest in changing *any* builders with AI,” he stated.
Solomon labored at Firaxis from 2000 to 2023, and was the inventive director and design lead for the XCOM franchise and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.