Summary
- Paradox Interactive CCO Henrik Fåhraeus said the company must "stop" releasing unfinished games.
- Paradox deputy CEO Mattias Lilja attributed some of the studio's recent mistakes to overconfidence.
- Paradox confirmed that Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 are still in development following numerous delays.
A senior Paradox Interactive official has expressed remorse about the company's past reputation of releasing unfinished games. This sentiment was shared as part of a recent interview with several key executives at the Swedish developer-publisher, during which they vowed that Paradox Interactive will do better moving forward.
The Swedish company has been on a rather bumpy road lately. Back in June 2024, it canceled its long-awaited The Sims rival Life by You mere weeks ahead of its planned early access launch, labeling it as a "clear failure." It subsequently shut down the game's developer, California-based Tectonic, which employed some two dozen people at the time. All of this happened not long after Paradox found itself harshly criticized by fans for the poor state of Cities: Skylines 2, which launched in late 2023 with a myriad of technical issues, and then also angered players with its first piece of DLC. Called Beach Properties, the $9.99 pack was widely panned for its minimal content, prompting Paradox to refund everyone who bought it and give it away as an apology.
Paradox Has 'Got To Stop' Releasing Unfinished Games, Exec Says
Reflecting on some of these difficulties in a recent interview with Game File's Stephen Totilo, Paradox Interactive Chief Creative Officer Henrik Fåhraeus expressed remorse about the company's past mistakes. "I personally hate the kind of reputation we've had, at least cyclically or periodically, to release unfinished games," the industry veteran revealed, adding that this practice has "got to stop." Remarking on Paradox's closure of its Life by You studio, Fåhraeus labeled it as "tragic."
Paradox CEO Attributes Recent Mistakes To Overconfidence
Asked about the circumstances leading to the company canceling a game that spent half a decade in development, deputy CEO Mattias Lilja said that the group grew overconfident. As he phrased it, Paradox's prior successes emboldened it to make substantial investments that were outside its "sphere of competence." In this particular instance, although Life by You seemingly fit Paradox's portfolio on a conceptual level, the company took longer than it normally would to realize the scope of the issues that the project was facing and finally decide to bin it, all because it didn't have any previous experience making life sims.
I personally hate the kind of reputation we've had, at least cyclically or periodically, to release unfinished games.
The interview also saw Lilja reflected on Lamplighter’s League, a tactical RPG that Paradox labeled a "big disappointment" shortly following its 2023 debut. According to him, the game was only "good," which is simply "not good enough" in a niche genre. Fåhraeus agreed with this sentiment, saying he'd still put XCOM 2 and Phoenix Point as two contemporary tactics games that were better than Lamplighter's League.
Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 Are Still in the Works
As for what's ahead, the executive duo confirmed that Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 are still in development. While both have been delayed multiple times already over the years, with Bloodlines 2 even undergoing a developer switch in 2021, neither is currently in danger of being canceled.
- Date Founded
- 2004
- Headquarters
- Stockholm, Sweden
- Subsidiaries
- Paradox Development Studio, Triumph Studios
- Known For
- Age of Wonders, Pillars of Eternity