Firaxis Games

Background

Firaxis Games is an American video game developer based in Sparks, Maryland. It was founded by Sid Meier and his fellow developers in 1996, primarily known for the Civilization games, as well as other strategy titles, most of them bearing Sid Meier's name. The studio is currently a subsidiary of 2K Games.

1st Logo (October 14, 1997-December 13, 1999)

Normal version
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri variant

Visuals: There is a blue grid on a dark background, then the camera zooms out and looks forward to reveal the "FIRAXIS" text in front of a bright light. The grid "transforms" into the blue line in the logo and the light diminishes to reveal a red circular vortex above the company name. The vortex then turns into a swirl with razor-like edges, and the word "GAMES" is formed below the blue line.

Variant: In Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, the logo is seen on a tiled block with two robotic arms pressing on it. When the tile is inserted, the arms move away from the block. Robotic movement sounds similar to the one heard in the other variant are heard when the arms are in motion.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A robotic movement sound effect, a post-boom explosion sound, and a "beam" synth in the last effect.

Availability: The normal logo is seen on the intros of Sid Meier's Gettysburg! and Sid Meier's Antietam!, and the variant is only seen in the intro of Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri.

2nd Logo (October 30, 2001-)

Civilization 3 variant
Sid Meier's SimGolf variant
Sid Meier's Pirates! variant
Civilization IV variant
Sid Meier's Railroads! variant

Visuals: The Firaxis logo is colored gold and its swirls are much slenderer than the previous logo. It also lacks a dark colored interior.

Variants:

In Civilization III (the first game to feature this logo), the logo fades in from a white background.
In the opening of Sid Meier's SimGolf, the logo is seen on a blimp passing by the screen. The text is also in front of the swirl and "Firaxis" is in a red color.
In Sid Meier's Pirates!, a pirate (probably the player) discovers an old piece of paper with the logo adorned.
In Civilization IV, its expansions, and CivCity: Rome, the logo spawns above an old piece of paper that details fighters on a desktop.
In Sid Meier's Railroads!, the logo spawns in a model train layout, with the same audio from Civilization IV plus model train sounds.
In Civilization Revolution, this and the 2K Games logo before are drawn by a caveman on a rock wall.
In Civilization IV: Colonization, the logo fades in from a dark background with a slightly different sound from the first logo.
In Civilization V and its expansions, the logo also appears in a dark background, but fades in/out with a swiping effect. It also has a more distinctive synth sound played.
In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the logo appears on an electrostatic surface and is colored light blue with static and sinister noises, and after a few seconds, it gets erased by an electric shortage.

Technique: CGI in most variants.

Audio: The variants as well as few others have a gentle synth sound playing. The remainder often have a song playing from the clip it was seen.

Availability: It was first seen on Civilization III and has appeared on its sequels, as well as other strategy games.

Legacy: This logo is a favorite among fans of the 4X genre (a subgenre of strategy-based video games).