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It's like 'Life Sims + The Truman Show,' but it's more than that. I believe people are storytellers, and I want them to share whatever stories and characters they can dream up. Burbank let's you do that." Solomon describes the gameplay footage in this trailer as "definitely pre-alpha," and he ain't kidding – you're going to see a lot of awkward voice acting and animation in the trailer below. But there's a spark of something interesting here. This is a Sims-style sandbox game where your characters' storylines play out as TV dramas in genres ranging from soap opera to sci-fi epic. 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I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZOFebruary 19, 2026 We built a studio, we made a game, and I'm really proud of both. Before we close the doors at Midsummer Studios I'd like to share a glimpse of Burbank, the game we poured our hearts into.It's like "Life Sims + The Truman Show," but it's more than that. I believe people are… pic.twitter.com/RuYvDhdEZOFebruary 19, 2026 You might get an uncanny feeling watching some of those character performances, and yes, they are driven by AI. "Our characters use AI for memory, reasoning and speech," Solomon explains in a follow-up tweet. "That's what let's [sic] you create anyone you want and drop them in any story you write. But all of our art is created by our talented artists. We had no interest in replacing *any* developers with AI." Solomon co-founded Midsummer in 2024 alongside fellow Firaxis veteran Will Miller, with an initial press release noting that the studio had $6 million in investment to make "a next-gen Life Sim that emphasizes player-driven narratives." The studio also boasted of talent including long-time employees at The Sims developer Maxis, so the life sim pedigree was strong. Burbank seems like a fun concept on its face – not far off from The Movies, a cult-favorite strategy gameled by Peter Molyneux – though I'm certainly skeptical any game doing live, AI-driven content generation could really capture players' imaginations. Still, it's beyond disappointing to see yet another team of industry veterans seemingly forced to shut down before they can bring their project to life.