Paradox Interactive

Paradox Interactive is a publisher.

Paradox Interactive Webpage, Facebook

A Swedish video game publisher based in Stockholm. The company relies on both publishing games created by Paradox Development Studio and publishing games developed by external teams – the latter constitutes the majority of its publishing catalog.

History

The history of Paradox Interactive overlaps with that of Paradox Development Studio. The company was founded in 1995, and after four years of operation, the decision was made to separate it into two divisions – Paradox Interactive was to focus on video game development, while Paradox Entertainment was delegated to work on board games and role-playing games. In 2012, the company underwent a second division – Paradox Development Studio was designated as the unit responsible for video game production, while Paradox Interactive became the global publisher.

Paradox Interactive's publishing portfolio is primarily fueled by productions from Paradox Development Studio, led by the Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron series. These are complex grand strategy games, mostly set in historical settings. However, the publisher's catalog also includes works from third-party developers, including East India Company, Majesty, Penumbra, and Mount & Blade. The Magicka series is also worth noting, as is the collaboration with Colossal Order, which resulted in the releases of Cities in Motion and Cities: Skylines. The highest-rated game to date in Paradox Interactive's catalog is Pillars of Eternity, developed by Obsidian Entertainment, who also developed Tyranny, released by Paradox Interactive in 2016.

Dynamic growth

Since 2014, we have witnessed the company's dynamic growth. At that time, the publisher announced the formation of a new studio, Paradox Arctic, based in Umea, Sweden. In 2015, it acquired White Wolf, thus getting the rights to the World of Darkness franchise, including the video game franchise Vampire: The Masquerade. In 2017, it opened a third studio, Paradox Thalassic, based in Malmo.

However, as it turned out shortly thereafter, the publisher was just getting started. That same year, it announced the acquisition of Dutch Triumph Studios (creators of the Age of Wonders series), and a year later, it acquired American Harebrained Schemes, whose portfolio included three games in the Shadowrun series and the warmly received BattleTech. In 2019, it opened its fourth studio, Paradox Tectonic, in Berkeley, California. Furthermore, in January 2019, the company acquired the rights to the Prison Architect brand. In 2020, they created a fifth studio, Paradox Tinto, based in Barcelona, Spain, and acquired French Playrion Game Studio and Finnish Iceflake Studios.

Earlier, in 2016, Paradox Interactive launched a series of events dedicated to its games called PDXCon.

Problematic Vampire: The Masquerade

In January 2018, we learned that Paradox Interactive had acquired a 33% share in Hardsuit Labs. The team was to create a new, unannounced game. In March 2019, it was revealed that this game was Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, overseen by the creators of the original, Chris Avellone, and Brian Mitsoda, who wrote the script. The game was scheduled for release in early 2020, but it was ultimately delayed several times. In August 2020, key people responsible for the project left the studio, and in February 2021, it was announced that Paradox Interactive had decided to terminate its partnership with Hardsuit Labs because the new Vampire: The Masquerade did not meet expectations. The company began searching for a new team to complete the project.

Relentless growth

In late September 2021, Paradox Interactive announced that, in order to focus on "proven niches," it was canceling a dozen(!) unannounced projects. In August 2022, the publisher launched Paradox Arc, a new publishing initiative under which Paradox Interactive would help smaller studios develop and publish their games.

In June 2023, Paradox Interactive shared its business vision with the world. As it turned out, since 2013, the publisher had canceled 47% of the projects that were in development. Furthermore, although Paradox Arc was generating $6-9 million annually, 60-80% of the games created under this initiative were canceled; only the most promising titles were allowed to continue development. Furthermore, only games that could be worked on indefinitely, as well as titles that managed to generate profits, were viewed by the company as successes. Titles that merely broke even or failed to break even were considered failures.

This rather ruthless policy resulted in the closure of Paradox Arctic and Paradox Thalassic. In a sense, Harebrained Schemes also fell victim to this policy. After their tactical RPG, The Lamplighters League, generated disappointing sales (despite decent reviews), Paradox Interactive decided to let the team go. The partnership, which began in 2018, was scheduled to end on January 1, 2024.

Fortunately, Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 didn't fall victim to the aforementioned "ruthless development." In September 2023, it was announced that the project had been handed over to The Chinese Room. Gamers greeted this news with cautious optimism, as while the developers had established themselves as authors of excellent storylines, their ability to deliver a complex action RPG remained in question. However, subsequent information revealed by the developers seemed to indicate that they knew what they were doing and had their own vision.

Bold plans for the future and their verification

In the meantime, the company announced a number of projects. Games that could be considered responses to hits from other publishers were the most important. The first was Life by You, a life simulator from Paradox Tectonic studio, intended to compete with The Sims series. The second was Millenia, a turn-based 4X strategy game developed by C Prompt Games, intended primarily to compete with Sid Meier's Civilization series. The third was Foundry from Channel 3 Entertainment, challenging the bestselling Factorio and Satisfactory.

In October 2023, Paradox Interactive released Cities: Skylines II, developed by Colossal Order. The game's system requirements were very high and it suffered from various issues, resulting in only "mixed" reviews on Steam. Industry media gave it a slightly warmer reception; according to Metacritic, the average score was 74/100. Despite its moderate artistic success at best, the game achieved commercial success and immense popularity. Suffice it to say that at its peak, over 100,000 people were playing it on Steam.

When Millenia was released in March 2024, it became clear that C Prompt Games had failed to create a real challenge for Civilization. The title received only "mixed" reviews on Steam, with an average rating from industry media of 68/100 (according to Metacritic). Foundry fared better, launching in Steam Early Access in May 2024 and receiving "very positive" reviews from gamers. Life by You, however, suffered the saddest fate, as the project was canceled in June 2024 and Paradox Tectonic, the studio responsible for it, was closed. It was also revealed that the latter project had cost $17 million to develop.

Meanwhile, Paradox Interactive continued its established publishing path, releasing a series of expansions to its already successful titles – Crusader Kings III, Hearts of Iron IV, Stellaris, Europa Universalis IV, and Age of Wonders 4.

However, this didn't save the company from its financial loss. The report for the second quarter of 2024 indicated a 90% decline in operating profit. CEO Frederik Wester blamed this on "incorrect decisions regarding several projects, especially those outside our (the company's – editor's note) core business." One way to avoid such disruptions in the future was to implement changes in 2021 "in the way we invest in riskier projects," which ultimately were intended to avoid costly mishaps like Life by You.

Paradox Interactive began the year 2025 by acquiring a new studio. They got Haemimont Games, whose portfolio included strategy games such as Tzar: The Burden of the Crown, the Tropico series, Surviving Mars, Stranded: Alien Dawn, and Jagged Alliance 3. The company intended to allow this team to continue its current activities, and its individual members to keep their positions.