Paradox 'hates' his reputation for releasing unfinished games, vows to stop

Senior Paradox Interactive the official expressed regret over the company's past reputation for publishing unfinished games. This sentiment was shared in a recent interview with several key executives at the Swedish developer publisher, during which they promised that Paradox Interactive will do better going forward.

The Swedish company has been on quite a bumpy ride lately. In June 2024, she canceled her long-awaited The Sims compete Life by you just weeks before early access was scheduled to launch, calling it a “clear failure”. The game's developer, California-based Tectonic, which employed about two dozen people at the time, subsequently went out of business. All of this happened not long after Paradox was heavily criticized by fans for its poor condition Cities: Skylines 2which launched in late 2023 with countless technical issues and then also angered players with its first DLC. The $9.99 pack, called Beach Properties, was widely panned for its minimal content, prompting Paradox to issue refunds to everyone who bought it and issue it as an apology.

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Paradox 'Must Stop' Publishing Unfinished Games, Says Exec

In a recent interview with Game File's Stephen Totil, Paradox Interactive's creative director Henrik Fåhraeus reflected on some of these difficulties and expressed regret for the company's past mistakes. “I personally hate the reputation we've had, at least cyclically or periodically, of releasing unfinished games,” the industry veteran revealed, adding that the practice “has to stop.” Note on closing Paradox Life by you studio, Fåhraeus called it “tragic”.

Paradox's CEO attributes recent mistakes to overconfidence

When asked about the circumstances that led to the company canceling a game it had spent half a decade developing, Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja said the group had grown overconfident. As he put it, Paradox's previous successes encouraged him to make substantial investments that were outside his “sphere of competence.” In this particular case, however Life by you Seemingly fitting into Paradox's portfolio on a conceptual level, it took the company longer than it would normally take to realize the extent of the problems the project faced and eventually decided to tie it down, all because it had no prior experience creating life sims.

She also reflected on Lilja in the interview League of Lanternsa tactical RPG that Paradox called a “huge disappointment” shortly after its debut in 2023. According to him, the game was merely “good”, which is simply not “good enough” in a niche genre. Fåhraeus agreed with this sentiment and said he would still give XCOM 2 and Phoenix Point as two contemporary strategy games that were better than League of Lanterns.

Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still in production

As for what lies ahead, the powerful duo confirmed it Prison architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still under development. While both have been delayed several times over the years, s Bloodline 2 though it will undergo a developer change in 2021, neither is currently in danger of cancellation.

Paradox Interactive

Date of establishment

2004-00-00

Headquarters

Stockholm, Sweden