Get the latest tech news

From superheroes to soap operas: XCOM's Jake Solomon unveils first details of his new studio and next-gen life sim

Eurogamer speaks to Jake Solomon as he reveals his brand-new studio and teases his next-gen life sim game.

During his 23-year career at Firaxis, Solomon helped transform the turn-based tactics genre into what it is today, teaching us just how dramatic a well-timed overwatch shot could be, as well as how to howl in agony as our gunners repeatedly missed a 99%, point-blank hit chance window. But more than that, it was also because he and his two co-founders (fellow Firaxis designer Will Miller and former public sector CFO Nelsie Birch) wanted to remain independent for now and be "completely in control" of their own destinies - a sentiment that feels more pertinent than ever in the wake of Microsoft's swathe of recent studio closures. Citing Stephen King novels, Gilmore Girls, Touched By An Angel and even Midsomer Murders (which is not a nod to the studio's name, by the way; rather, it's solely a reference to Solomon's Norwegian roots, he says, and the fact that his family have a big midsummer celebration every year), he says "there's a reason why small towns work really well, because you can establish that everybody's got these almost incestuous relationships.

Get the Android app