Mohawk Games: new gaming studio from ‘Civilization IV’ designer Soren Johnson

A new indie gaming studio is now open in Baltimore.
Mohawk Games was unveiled Nov. 5, and it’s a product of noted developer Soren Johnson‘s. Fans of the strategy game “Civilization” will recognize Johnson’s name: he was the lead designer in the creation of “Civilization IV.” The new independent game development studio will be “dedicated to building core strategy games,” according to a press release.
In an interview with Gamasutra, Johnson said he hopes Mohawk’s focus will be on “core PC strategy games” conceptualized and programmed by a “very small team” of developers and designers.
From Gamasutra:

Mohawk will expand to maybe four or five people, says Johnson, but design-wise, the studio is aiming for the breadth and depth of strategy games from large developers, catering to audiences that play games like “Master of Orion” and “Civilization.”

Johnson spent the better part of last decade working at Firaxis Games, led by “Civilization” creator Sid Meier, which is where he helped make “Civilization IV.” He has also worked at Zynga.
Mohawk Games is yet another entry into a gaming market with a 20-plus-year history in and around the Baltimore area. With the folding of Zynga East and Impossible Studios early this year, however, indie game studios are now picking up more of the slack, as Technical.ly Baltimore reported in February.
But studios such as Pure Bang Games in Highlandtown and the year-old gaming division within Catonsville-based Mindgrub Games have been focusing their development efforts on mobile gaming. Mohawk, as Johnson indicated, will hope to make it big on PC games — for now.