Firaxis is working on a new Civilization game and does so with a new studio head

Game developer Firaxis is working on the next Civilization game and is doing so with a new studio head; Jake Solomon is leaving after 23 years at the games maker. There are no images of the new Civilization yet, but it is known that Heather Hazen will take over.

Not only is there no footage of the presumed Civilization VII, but a release date the developer mentions in the press release not yet either. Civilization VI turns seven years old this year, and in the meantime Firaxis produced XCOM: Chimera Squad and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Civilization VI received two major expansions and several smaller DLCs, including the recent Leader Pass.

When asked by VGC 2K denies that Solomon’s departure had to do with the supposedly disappointing sales figures of Marvel’s Midnight Suns. That game was reasonably discounted shortly after its release. 2K CEO Strauss Zelnick also stated that the release date for the game might not have been chosen well and that the game may therefore not sell well. He did express confidence in the sales figures in the longer term. Firaxis says it wants to provide this game with additional content.

Solomon worked at Firaxis for 23 years. When he started at the studio, he worked on Civilization III as a programmer. In his parting he thanks game designer Sid Meier for what he learned from him, but also his colleagues and parent company 2K. He goes on to say that it is time for ‘other, smarter people to further develop tactical turn-based games’. He does not reveal what he is going to do next, but he says he is going after a ‘new dream’.

His successor, Heather Hazen, was an executive producer on Fortnite at Epic Games and previously worked at casual game developer PopCap. There she was executive producer for Bejeweled, executive producer of Live Services and Games General Manager. She has been with Firaxis as Chief Operating Officer for 2.5 years.