Paradox Entertainment is a Swedish company that develops some of the biggest and most intensive strategy games, including Global Europe IV arrive Crusader Kings 3. It’s also caused some major bugs lately. now some its senior executives are apology tour Promising a return to better times and a tighter focus on the niche strategy games it’s known for.
Paradox’s deputy CEO Mattias Lilja and chief creative officer Henrik Fåhraeus sat down with multiple media outlets to discuss the publisher’s recent failures and the lessons learned from them. These disputes, mistakes and other issues include Cities: Skylines 2erroneous and incomplete early access startup, Prison Architect 2postponed indefinitely, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Switch studios, The Sims 4 competitor life is up to you Canceled before publication, and reported Workplace bullying and inappropriate behavior is back 2021.
Cities: Skylines 2Steam release failed
image: Paradox Entertainment
Cities: Skylines was an unexpected, lasting blow that essentially replaced SimCity Be the leading city manager game. A sequel seems like a no-brainer, but it won’t happen until 2023 Cities: Skylines 2 Come to Steam It feels like an Early Access game with less content than its predecessor and more bugs. It seemed like a step back, and Paradox has been playing catch-up to game developer Colossal Order ever since. Xbox Series X/S and PS5 ports launching this fall have been postponed indefinitely.
Lilja attributes the early negative reaction in part to poor hardware optimization and testing. “We knew the system requirements were going to be very high, but we missed the point where certain advanced hardware combinations wouldn’t work, and that’s definitely our fault as a publisher,” he said. Tell computer gamer. “We actually agreed that iterating on this live stream was probably the right choice,” Lilja said of the choice to launch in October 2023, which he now regrets. “I think the lesson learned is that we probably shouldn’t have started so early.”
when Prison Architect 2 come out?
Prison Architect 2 What should have been another simple follow-up. The original game, about managing the construction of a grim prison-industrial complex, sold well. However, the sequel, being made by a new studio and moving to 3D, missed its first two release dates before being delayed indefinitely earlier this year due to technical challenges and performance issues.
“It’s a fun game and has been for a long time, but it’s rough,” Fåhraeus Tell computer gamer. “Its UI is rough. It’s a little unclear why things happen. It crashes. So it needs that love. Both executives are apparently adamant that the game is still launching and won’t be suddenly canceled at the 11th hour. ” It’s a game you really want to perfect because first impressions matter,” Fåhraeus Tell game files.
if there is a lineage 3the paradox will not succeed
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is another MIA Paradox game with a very passionate and devoted fan base. It is the sequel to 2004’s hit action RPG from the short-lived Troika Games, and was originally produced by Hardsuit Labs, a studio mostly known for co-development and ports. But in 2021, Paradox hands over the reins to The Chinese Room, developer of custom, narrative-driven walking sims.
“We know that given the long development times and changing developers, the business case can be tight,” Lilja Tell computer gamer. “But we’re still on track and we’re still focused on delivering this game.” He added that action games aren’t really the publisher’s forte, despite its commitment to publishing bloodline 2this is a one-time use. So if bloodline 2God’s will, succeeded, lineage 3 [will be] It was done by others with our permission,” Lilja said.
Compare the game to shamehe Tell game files It will come out and succeed or fail, and there are no plans to give it a Victoria 3If things go bad, do a post-release fix. bloodline2iRelease is currently expected in the first half of 2025.
life is up to you Canceled due to quality issues
The Sims 4 It’s massive, and EA continues to roll out new content packs and updates every year. But at 10 years old, with no sequel in sight, this seems like the perfect time for a contender. Paradox Tectonic, led by ex Sims and second life Veterans should do it That’s exactly it life is up to you. Then earlier this year, just before it was scheduled to launch into Early Access, Paradox canceled the game and the entire studio was laid off.
“When we looked at it over the last two or three years, we found a lot of issues, mainly graphics, performance, bugs, all kinds of weird stuff,” Fåhraeus Tell game files. “We’re very focused on feedback on these specific issues, especially graphics. We’ve been working on this for a long time.” He added that the game just wasn’t good enough – “not significantly better than The Sims 4 in any of its major areas”—and should be canceled early. Although at least one former developer On the game, he stated that the team had been hitting all internal goals, suggesting that this was a failure of high-level business strategy rather than a flaw in the studio’s personnel.
Fahreus Tell computer gamer and others say it plans to avoid more life is up to youA recipe for disaster would be to cancel more projects sooner and move closer to Paradox’s core competencies, rather than venturing outside its wheelhouse on ambitious new experiments. It’s not entirely clear, however, exactly what new structures or guardrails might prevent publishers from going off track again. Back in 2021, a senior executive reshuffle led to then-CEO Ebba Ljungerud’s departure due to “different views” on the company’s future strategy.
“I think by the end of 2025, maybe 2026, we’ll see the transition that we’re trying to make, back to the core of the company and the core of the game,” Lilja Tell Game Industry Network. “It will crystallize [in] In 2025, hopefully by 2026 everything will be very clear.
.
