Maryland may be small (and by small I mean 42nd puniest state in the U.S.), but it’s home of pop culture staples like Big Huge Games, Bethesda Softworks, The Wire, Hairspray, and Tom Clancy’s The Sum of All Fears. But perhaps most important is developer Firaxis Games, responsible for the Civilization series, which likely comprised a good chunk of the $1 billion in tax revenues the state drew from the video game industry in 2008.

Now in honor of that annual gamer-generated windfall, Maryland State Governor Martin O’Malley will be recognizing September 21st as the first official Sid Meier’s Civilization V Day!

In a statement, O’Malley said:

Sid Meier is known throughout Maryland and the world as a pioneer of electronic gaming, having co-founded his first studio in Baltimore County, Maryland in 1982, and today continuing a tradition of developing the talent and creativity of future generations. Now, therefore, I, Martin O’Malley, Governor of the State of Maryland, do hereby pay tribute to the outstanding achievements of Sid Meier on this day, July 28, 2010, and hereby recognize September 21, 2010, as Sid Meier’s Civilization V Day, and call upon the people of our State to join in celebrating this salute.

Here’s the proclamation, fancy state seal and all: (via)

Sid Meier’s Civilization V will be released on, duh, September 21, 2010. In the meantime, someone tell O’Malley to research the right techs when running his own civilization.

(via The Escapist)

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