The games industry is in a worrying state of flux right now. Beloved and storied studios are being shut down left, right and centre; others are having their teams gutted from the inside out. It's hard to know which games and teams will even still be around next month, let alone in a year's time, and it must be daunting in the extreme for new, independent developers trying to make their debut games.

But XCOM and Marvel's Midnight Suns designer Jake Solomon is used to dealing with chance and probabilities. 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. Now, he's taking an even bigger step into the unknown, as today he's not only unveiling his brand-new independent games company, Midsummer Studios, but he's also given us a tease of what he's working on: a next-generation life sim where players "can't help but write an interesting story" as they steer their characters through the ups and downs of modern life.

Well, perhaps it's not too much of a step into the unknown, as Solomon reveals to me that his new base of operations for Midsummer is actually the very same place where he first cut his teeth as a games designer. "This building we're in, these are actually the old Firaxis offices," he says. "This is where me and a bunch of people [at Midsummer] started our careers, and a lot of people at Midsummer are people that have worked with me for a long time." And his first hire? The son of his former mentor, Sid Meier.

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