Games industry veteran Jake Solomon has shared the first footage of his next game, but it comes as part of the developer also stating that his studio is shutting down and the game may never release.
After spending 20+ years at Firaxis, Solomon founded Midsummer Studios in 2024 with the ambitious mission statement that it would “reinvent the life sim genre.” The company said at the time that it raised more than $6 million from a variety of investors, but it seems Midsummer will close without releasing any games.
Solomon said he is “really proud” of the studio and the game that Midsummer was working on, which was called Burbank. It was a “dream” game for him. He said the studio wanted to show the game “before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios” so the world can see what the team was working on.
We built a studio, we made a game, and I’m really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I’d like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.
It’s like “Life Sims + The Truman Show,” but it’s more than that. I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZO
— Jake Solomon (@SolomonJake) February 19, 2026
He described Burbank as a “life sim + The Truman Show,” but also something that is “more than that.” The game would have allowed people to “create your own TV show, just by playing a game,” or at least that was the idea.
“I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let’s you do that. We have moments playing this game where characters come alive in a way we’ve never experienced,” he said. “And for an old game developer like me that’s special.”
The footage is from a pre-alpha version of Burbank. You may quickly notice that some of the voices appear to be AI-generated, and that seems to be the case. Solomon said the game utilized AI for “memory, reasoning, and speech” for its characters.
“That’s what let’s you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI,” he said.
Solomon worked at Firaxis from 2000 to 2023, and was the creative director and design lead for the XCOM franchise and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
