Firaxis Games: Heather Hazen replaces Steve Martin at the head of the American studio

A new era begins for Firaxis Games with the appointment of Heather Hazen as director of the American studio behind the Sid Meier’s Civilization, XCOM and Marvel’s Midnight Suns licenses.

After more than 25 years at Firaxis Games as general manager, Steve Martin is stepping down to hand over leadership of the American studio to Heather Hazen, former executive producer of Fortnite at Epic Games and Plants vs Zombies at PopCap Games:

I’m thrilled to be able to continue the studio’s legacy, starting with the announcement that Firaxis is working on the next iteration of the legendary Civilization franchise. I’ve been fortunate to work with some of the best developers in our industry, and we’re committed to taking 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.

Firaxis Games Changes to Prepare for Civilization’s Resurgence

Having been involved in the development of the Civilization series for over 15 years, Ed Beach received a new promotion after he was appointed head of design for Civilization VI, the best-selling licensed game to date. With the departure of Jake Solomon, he is now the creative director of the American studio, and the development of the new Civilization has just been formalized:

2K and Firaxis Games are deeply grateful to Steve Martin for the foundation he has laid at the studio over the years, releasing over 30 games across three genre-defining franchises, and for Heather Hazen’s smooth transition into her new role. Firaxis is one of the most renowned studios in our company and in the industry, and we are confident that under his leadership the team will continue to do great things. Jake Solomon revolutionized turn-based tactical games and constantly raised the bar for storytelling in the strategy genre. We deeply appreciate his work and look forward to seeing what he does in the future.