For anybody thinking this new game will be anything like XCOM prepare for disappointment.

Jake has previously said that he is leaving turn-based tactics games behind.

And his tweet announcing Midsummer even says “it’s going to seem very different from what I’ve done before.”

edit: There is some good news for turn-based tactics fans. Another studio founded by former XCOM devs is focusing on turn-based games.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Before founding Midsummer, the two worked on XCOM, Civilization: Beyond Earth, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

Today, the new studio has announced its first game: a next-gen life sim game with former The Sims director Grant Rodiek leading the project as executive producer.

According to the studio’s press release, this debut project “emphasizes player-driven narratives, allowing communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of players themselves.” The project doesn’t currently have a title or release date.

This new game will face stiff competition in the life-sim genre, which has been dominated by big-budget games like The Sims 4 and smaller, indie outfits like Stardew Valley.

Midsummer’s developers wrote that they want to give players the tools to tell their own stories, reminiscent of the popular trend of players using avatars created in The Sims and similar games to act out soap opera-style stories that are recorded and uploaded to social media.

Meanwhile, EA is already working on its next iteration of The Sims, a free-to-play title dubbed “Project Rene,” and former Sims and Second Life developer Rod Humble set up a new studio to launch the life-sim Life by You, which is due out on June 4th.

The original article contains 218 words, the summary contains 200 words. Saved 8%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!