Key Takeaways
- Paradox Interactive CCO Henrik Fåhraeus said the company must “stop” releasing unfinished games.
- Deputy CEO of Paradox Mattias Lilja said that some of the studio's recent mistakes have resulted in overconfidence.
- Paradox has confirmed that Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still in development after several delays.
Senior Paradox Interactive Officials expressed regret about the company's past reputation for releasing unfinished games. This sentiment was shared as part of an interview with several key executives at the Swedish developer-publisher, who vowed to improve Paradox Interactive.
The Swedish company has been on a bit of a bumpy road lately. In June 2024, the long-awaited was cancelled The Sims competitors Your life a few weeks before the start of the planned early access, which describes it as a “clear failure”. Then the game's developer, California-based Tectonic, which employed about twenty people at the time, shut down. All of this happened shortly after Paradox found itself heavily criticized by fans for its poor performance. City: Skylines 2which was launched in late 2023 with a lot of technical problems, and then the players were angry with the first part of the DLC. Called Beach Properties, the $9.99 package was widely criticized for its minimal content, prompting Paradox to refund everyone who bought it and issue it with an apology.
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After recent developments, Prison Architect 2 is stuck between a rock and a hard place
Prison Architect 2 seems to take the concept to new heights, although with these improvements the game may face an uphill battle.
Paradox 'Must Stop' Publishing Unfinished Games, Says Exec
Reflecting on some of these difficulties in an interview with Game File's Stephen Totilo, Henrik Fåhraeus, Chief Creative Officer of Paradox Interactive, expressed regret for the company's past mistakes. “I personally hate the kind of reputation we have, at least periodically or periodically, to release unfinished games,” said the industry veteran, adding that this practice “has to stop.” Paradox marked its closure Your life studio, Fåhraeus characterized it as “sad.”
Paradox's CEO attributes recent mistakes to overconfidence
When asked about the circumstances that led the company to cancel the game that had spent half a decade in development, Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja said that the group had grown in confidence. As he puts it, Paradox's previous success led him to make big investments that were outside his “area of expertise.” In this case, however Your life seems to fit Paradox's intellectual portfolio, the company took longer than usual to realize the extent of the problems facing the project and finally decided to fire it, because I had no previous experience making life sims.
I personally hate the kind of reputation we have, at least every year, for releasing unfinished games.
The interview also found Lilja reflecting Lamplighter's League gameA strategy RPG that Paradox described as a “big disappointment” shortly after its debut in 2023. According to him, the game is “good”, which is just “not enough” for the niche genre. Fåhraeus agreed with this sentiment, saying he would put it on XCOM 2 SY Phoenix Point like today's two strategy games that are better than Lamplighter's League game.
Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still in the works
Regarding the future, the executive confirmed it Prison Builder 2 SY Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 still in development. Even though they have backed down several times over the years, with Bloodlines 2 even if the developer changes in 2021, there is no risk of cancellation at this time.
Paradox Interactive
- Date of construction
- 2004-00-00
- Headquarters
- Stockholm, Sweden
