Firaxis Games

Firaxis Games, Inc.

Company type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Predecessor	MicroProse (founders departed from)
Founded	May 1, 1996 (1996-05-01) in Sparks, Maryland, United States
Founder	Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, Brian Reynolds
Fate	Acquired by Take-Two Interactive; incorporated into 2K label
Headquarters	Sparks, Maryland , United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Heather Hazen (studio head as of 2023), formerly Steve Martin (CEO until 2023), Sid Meier (co-founder)
Products	Civilization series, XCOM series, CivilizationEDU
Owner	Take-Two Interactive
Number of employees	Approximately 180 (as of December 2015) (2015)
Parent	Take-Two Interactive (2K label)

Firaxis Games, Inc. is a United States-based video game developer located in Sparks, Maryland. The studio was founded in May 1996 by Sid Meier, Jeff Briggs, and Brian Reynolds following their departure from MicroProse. In August 2005, Firaxis became part of Take-Two Interactive and was incorporated into the 2K label. The company is best known for producing the Civilization and XCOM franchises, as well as other titles associated with Meier's name.

History

Firaxis Software came into existence on May 1, 1996, established by Meier, Reynolds, and Briggs, all of whom had previously worked at MicroProse. The studio's name, "Firaxis," is a fusion of "fiery" and "axis," a term inspired by musical compositions created by Briggs. The founders opted to stay in the Baltimore region to capitalize on local benefits rather than relocating to Silicon Valley.

Operating as a "design house," Firaxis delegated manufacturing, marketing, and distribution tasks to external partners, collaborating with publishers such as Electronic Arts through its Origin Systems division. Initially housed in a modest office in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company moved to a larger facility at Executive Plaza III in early 1997 and grew its workforce to 13 employees.

Their debut title, Sid Meier's Gettysburg!, was released in October 1997 and achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling 200,000 units by 1999. Beginning with this project, Firaxis started branding games designed by Meier with the prefix "Sid Meier's," which enhanced the brand’s visibility. Co-founder Reynolds left the company in 2000; subsequently, Firaxis hired seasoned industry professionals to support its expansion. CEO Jeff Briggs received the "CEO of the Year" award in 2004 before departing in 2006; he was succeeded by Steve Martin, who earned the "Maryland International Business Leadership Award" in 2011.

At the end of 2004, Infogrames sold the Civilization intellectual property to Take-Two Interactive for $22.3 million. Firaxis continued developing the series under Take-Two’s newly established 2K label. In November 2005, Take-Two fully acquired Firaxis while allowing it to retain operational independence in management and development. This acquisition strengthened Firaxis’s creative output and marketing capabilities.

Prominent designers like Soren Johnson and Jon Shafer exited after leading Civilization IV and Civilization V, respectively. In 2014, Firaxis inaugurated Firaxicon, an event dedicated to celebrating its games and fostering community interaction; it returned in 2015 featuring early demonstrations of titles such as XCOM 2.

By December 2015, Firaxis had expanded its Sparks headquarters to encompass 40,000 square feet and increased its staff count to approximately 180 employees. In 2016, the company collaborated with GlassLab to create CivilizationEDU, an educational version of Civilization V. In July 2018, Firaxis announced it was working on a new intellectual property.

In February 2023, longtime studio head Steve Martin along with creative director Jake Solomon departed; COO Heather Hazen was promoted to lead the studio. Subsequently, in May 2023, Firaxis implemented layoffs affecting 30 employees as part of cost-cutting initiatives from parent company Take-Two Interactive.

Sources

{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Eurogamer4">