Paradox hates its reputation for releasing unfinished games, vows to stop

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Paradox Interactive CCO Henrik Fåhraeus said the company should stop publishing unfinished games.
Paradox VP Mattias Lilja attributed some of the studio's recent missteps to overconfidence.
Paradox confirmed that Prison Architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still in development due to multiple delays.

a senior Interactive paradox The official regretted the company's past reputation for publishing unfinished games. That sentiment was shared as part of a recent interview with several key executives at the Swedish developer-publisher, during which they promised that Paradox Interactive will do better moving forward.

The Swedish company has been on quite a bumpy road lately. In June 2024, it canceled its long-awaited Sims competitor Life by you just a few weeks before its planned early access launch, calling it a “blatant failure”. The game developer subsequently shut down California-based Tectonic, which employed about 22 people at the time. All of this happened shortly after Paradox was heavily criticized by fans for its poor condition Cities: Skylines 2which launched in late 2023 with countless technical issues and then pissed off players with its first piece of DLC. The $9.99 bundle, called Beach Properties, was widely panned for its minimal content, prompting Paradox to issue refunds to everyone who purchased it and offer it as an apology. .

After recent developments, Prison Architect 2 is stuck between a rock and a hard place

Prison Architect 2 seems to take this concept to new heights, but even with these improvements, the game may have an uphill battle.

Exec says that Paradox should stop releasing unfinished games

Paradox Interactive's Chief Creative Officer Henrik Fåhraeus regretted some of the company's past mistakes in a recent interview with Game File's Stefan Tutillo. “I personally hate the reputation we've had for releasing unfinished games, at least on a periodic basis,” the industry veteran revealed, adding that the practice “has to stop.” Referring to the closure of the paradox Life by you Studio, Fåhraeus called it “tragic”.

Paradox's CEO attributes recent mistakes to overconfidence

Asked about the circumstances that led the company to cancel a game it had spent half a decade developing, Deputy CEO Matthias Lilja said the group had become overconfident. As he put it, Paradox's previous successes emboldened it to make significant investments that were outside its “area of competence.” In this particular instance, though Life by you Apparently matching the Paradox portfolio on a conceptual level, the company took longer than usual to understand the scope of the issues the project faced and ultimately decided to scrap it, all because no experience The previous one did not make life sims.

Personally, I hate the reputation we've had for releasing unfinished games at least periodically.

Lilia was also reflected in this interview Lamplighter Leaguea tactical RPG that Paradox called a “huge disappointment” shortly after its 2023 debut. According to him, the game was just “good”, which is simply “not good enough” in a certain genre. Phraeus agreed with this opinion and said that it still is XCOM 2 and Phoenix Point As two contemporary tactical games that are better than Lamplighter League.

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

As for what's ahead, the executive duo confirmed it Prison architect 2 and Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 are still developing. While both have been postponed several times over the years, Ba Bloodlines 2 Even if there is a change of developers in 2021, neither is currently in danger of cancellation.