Back in January of this year, The Sims community was shaken to learn that Grant Rodiek — who had worked at Electronic Arts since 2005 and been a major figure in the last several generations of the franchise, including most recently being named game director on Project Rene (a.k.a. The Sims 5) — was departing the company after nearly two decades. In what can only be described as quite the plot twist, yesterday we learned what he's doing next: teaming up with former XCOM and Marvel's Midnight Suns devs on a new life sim that's quite clearly hoping to rival The Sims series.
It's early days for Midsummer Games, freshly founded by Firaxis alumni Jake Solomon and Will Miller, but the studio has already recruited Rodiek for its debut project, described as "a next-gen life sim that emphasises player-driven narratives, allowing communities to share memorable moments that grow out of the creativity of players themselves."
Not much else has been revealed yet — there's not even a title, and clearly we'll have to wait some years to see the game in action — but the concept is an intriguing one. Studio co-founder Jake Solomon has been teasing for a while in interviews (like this one via PC Gamer) that he'd like to make a life sim that focuses specifically on "small town drama", citing influences as varied as Gilmore Girls and the novels of Stephen King. And, given how much Simmers love recreating their favourite TV shows, movies, books, and even other video games in the iconic life sim, he could be onto a real winner with that idea, especially now that he's secured one of the most experienced producers in the genre.