Take-Two Interactive announced Friday that the next Civilization game is in development at Firaxis Games. The announcement comes at the same time Firaxis Games confirmed the departure of long-time game director Jake Solomon. Solomon will be replaced by Firaxis Games’ Chief Operations Officer, Heather Hazen in her new role as Studio Head.
Hazen joined Firaxis Games in 2020. Prior to working at Firaxis Games, she was an Executive Producer on Fortnite at Epic Games, as well as Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled while at PopCap Games. “We are excited to welcome Heather Hazen as the new Studio Head of Firaxis Games, and believe she will continue to drive the success Firaxis has consistently delivered as part of 2K’s independent studio model,” said David Ismailer, President of 2K.
“I’m thrilled to have this opportunity to carry on the studio’s storied legacy, beginning with the announcement that Firaxis is in development on the next iteration of the legendary Civilization franchise,” said Hazen. “I’m lucky to be working with some of the best developers in our industry, and we have plans to take the Civilization franchise to exciting new heights for our millions of players around the world. In addition, we will continue to support Marvel’s Midnight Suns with post-launch content, and explore new creative projects for our teams.”
In Take-Two’s statement, it was confirmed that Ed Beach will continue on as creative director for the next installment of Civilization. The Civilization franchise was created over 30 years ago by Sid Meier at Microprose. Civilization 6 released in 2016 and was supported over the years with two major expansions and has sold over 65 million copies.
Take-Two did not comment on how far Firaxis Games was into developing the new Civilization title, game mechanics, or any in-game details which have led some to believe the title may be a few years away.
Image from: Firaxis Games/2K Games
