Paradox Interactive: Last News

Paradox Interactive and Harebrained Schemes have announced their split only two weeks after the launch of turn-based tactics game The Lamplighters League.On October 10, Paradox Interactive shared that it deemed the game a “big disappointment” due to the tepid commercial reception. The Lamplighters League is set in an alternate version of the 1930s where the player must prevent a cult from seizing precious artefacts to use to take over the world.Launched on October 3, it is available for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S as well as being playable through Xbox Game Pass.“Game projects are by their nature always risky, but at the end of the day we haven’t performed at the level we should.

Cities: Skylines 2 has apologised to players for a “rushed” expansion pack and delayed the console release of the city builder game.Cities: Skylines 2 was released at the end of last year, with players immediately experiencing technical difficulties. A number of hotfixes were released to try and fix a number of bugs and the beach properties expansion pack was delayed to 2024.

The Chinese Room‘s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will “borrow” elements from Baldur’s Gate 3 to ensure that players feel like their choices have weighty consequences.In an interview with PC Gamer, narrative designer Arone Le Bray shared that recent successful releases have been an inspiration for the anticipated role-playing game.“Sarah (one of our writers) is a huge fan of Baldur’s Gate 3… we’re looking at how we can borrow aspects [from it], or how we can make sure we’re not taking giant steps backwards in terms of stories,” he said.NME‘s review of Baldur’s Gate 3 paid praise to the “whirlwind” journey that it offers to players and the “real brilliance” in the level of freedom that the adventurers are granted to tread their own path.“I absolutely classify narrative as an aspect of gameplay,” continued Le Bray about how the title will take from Larian Studios’ tour de force.“How can we make the player feel like they’ve owned their outcomes? How can we make the player feel like they have the agency we want them to?”The Chinese Room recently revealed the playable protagonist of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, Phyre.They’re an Elder vampire whose gender, clothing, and clan can be customised by the player, and these choices can affect how characters react to Phyre and what powers they’ll be able to wield.That being said, Phyre’s story is defined to a degree.

Paradox Interactive has revealed that Cities: Skylines 2 will not use Steam Workshop to support its mods.Instead, Paradox Mods will be the one-stop shop for creative side of Cities: Skylines 2. This will create a cohesive experience for both PC and console players, without those playing on the latter feeling left out by the features available on the former.“One of the core reasons for this is its inclusivity; modding capabilities will be extended to players across platforms – both PC and console – aligning with our commitment to provide as many as possible with the opportunity to modify and enjoy the game,” explained the publisher in a post to its forums.The route to the total integration of Asset Mods across all three versions of Cities: Skylines 2 might lead to teething issues with players, acknowledged the publisher.“As with all major updates, we are fully aware of the learning curve it might present, but we’re committed to providing resources to ensure a smooth transition to Paradox Mods,” it affirmed.Moreover, the in-game editor will be “basic” at launch, but will continue to “expand and enhance” to allow players to let their imagination run rampant with their cities.Cities: Skylines 2 launches for PC and PC Game Pass on October 24, however, the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions were delayed to spring 2024.“We have come to realise that we need more time to reach the quality targets we have set,” said Colossal Order and Paradox Interactive back in September.

Paradox has revealed that Life By You will not feature deaths by illness or other “unfortunate means”.Set to launch in Early Access on September 12, Life By You will see strategy titan Paradox Interactive take on The Sims with its own life simulator.However, while sickness is a feature in EA‘s Sims series, Paradox didn’t want Life By You players to lose their characters due to illness.Speaking to GLHF, Paradox Tectonic head Rod Humble – ex-producer for The Sims – revealed that illness or “unfortunate means” will not be able to kill characters in Life By You.“We actually removed all of that due to COVID,” shared Humble. “So we had the idea of sickness and death by unfortunate means, but it just didn’t really sit right.

Paradox Interactive has revealed that Life By You, its upcoming life simulator from former The Sims producer Rod Humble, will launch in Early Access this summer.After it was teased earlier in the month, Life By You was unveiled through a livestream today (March 20).The game will launch in Early Access on September 12 and will be available on PC through Steam and the Epic Games Store.As for what Life By You is about, Paradox has shared that the life simulator will allow players to design and follow the lives of humans in the game. Players can choose to follow their characters in third-person as they automatically go about their day, or step in to control them directly.

Paradox Interactive has announced Cities: Skylines 2 – a sequel to developer Colossal Order‘s 2015 city-building simulator.Cities: Skylines 2 was announced during the Paradox Announcement Show yesterday (March 6), where details of the game were revealed.The city-building sim is set to launch this year and will be available on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox Game Pass.As for what the sequel will deliver, Colossal Order has billed Cities: Skylines 2 as being “the most realistic city builder ever” on its Steam page.“Use your creativity and strategic planning skills to grow your city into a thriving metropolis that will attract businesses, residents, and tourists alike,” reads the description. “From residential neighborhoods to bustling downtowns, the possibilities are endless.

Paradox Interactive has announced new downloadable content (DLC) for medieval grand strategy game Crusader Kings 3, with Tours And Tournaments set to allow the hosting of extravagant events in players’ kingdoms.Tours And Tournaments was announced today (March 6) during the Paradox Announcement Show.Set to launch this spring, Tours And Tournaments will allow players to host celebrations and tournaments in their realm, along with the ability for rulers to tour their lands.Tournaments will offer a means of improving the host’s social standing or military prowess, while touring a realm will let players offer gifts to their vassals or extort them for higher taxes. Meanwhile, players will also be able to host weddings that serve as an opportunity to “honour your in-laws, cater to your vassals, and demonstrate your power”.Tours And Tournaments will also introduce a travel system, which means that players will need to plan their route to and from each event.

Paradox Interactive has confirmed an announcement show, set to air early next week.On Monday (March 6) Paradox will be hosting a livestream presentation where it will unveil details of three new titles and four different expansions.The showcase will be available to watch on Paradox’s YouTube and Twitch channels from 5pm GMT and is presented in collaboration with Xbox.A teaser for the showcase has also been revealed, and is available to see below.“We’ve got big news,” said Paradox before promising “three new games, new expansions, gameplay reveals and updates.”As part of the presentation, Cities: Skylines developer Colossal Order is set to reveal its new title, alongside news from Shadowrun and Battletech developer Harebrained Schemes. Paradox Tectonic and former The Sims boss Rod Humble will also unveil their project during the stream.Updates are also expected for Crusader Kings 3 and Europa Universalis 4.Let’s play some games! Paradox Announcement Show airs on March 6th, 6p.m.

Paradox Interactive has revealed the new expansion for its strategy wargame, Hearts Of Iron 4, and it’s called By Blood Alone.Announced today (June 7), By Blood Alone will allow players to explore new alternate histories for Italy and Ethiopia, as well as one of the leading neutral powers, Switzerland. The expansion will also add new stories and possibilities during the time of the Second World War.New Focus Trees will be introduced as well.

Paradox Interactive has announced a new initiative that will allow indie developers to create games using the Vampire: The Masquerade intellectual property (IP).As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, “Unbound” is an initiative that invites indie developers to build and create new games set in the world of table-top RPG Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. Chosen games will be published on the indie game website Itch.io and the creators will receive a revenue share from their work and “potentially additional marketing support”.The initiative itself falls under the horror brand World of Darkness, which includes franchises Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse and Wraith: The Oblivion.

Paradox Interactive has published its 2021 financial report revealing that its revenues have dropped by 19 per cent.Following the release of the year-end report, which also confirmed that its Q4 2021 revenues were also down 10 per cent, Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester described 2021 as a “challenging year” and laid out its plan to make this year more successful (thanks, GameWatcher).“2021 has been a challenging year for Paradox. Too few content releases, too low quality on some of our releases and several discontinued projects leaves us with a full-year result that we are far from satisfied with,” Wester said.

Paradox Interactive has released an external report into its own work culture following issues of harassment that were raised last year in a staff survey.As reported by Eurogamer, the report was compiled by Gender Balance – a Swedish firm that specialises in discrimination, harassment and equality issues – and its results confirm that there are cultural issues within Paradox that foster misconduct.“We believe that complete transparency is the best way to move forward and address the issues and behaviours that have been identified,” Paradox chief of staff Mattias Lilja said in response to the report and the recommendations from Gender Balance.In a separate interview with Direkt, which was provided to Eurogamer with the English translation, Lilja said: “We are now getting to the bottom of this and we are getting a concrete picture of the problem.”“The report is a first step for us to really address these issues and bridge the trust gap that exists. Everyone should feel safe at Paradox and thrive, that is our responsibility to ensure.”Lilja continues to address the report, saying that Gender Balance expected more severe cases and found fewer but discovered behaviour of “inappropriate/nasty jargon” that “affects women to a greater degree than men, which is completely unacceptable.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodhunt’s developers have reassured players that they are “squarely focused on PC and PS5 at this point.”In an interview with The Loadout, Craig Hubbard, Vampire: The Masquerade – Blood Hunt game director, confirmed that the team isn’t looking at Xbox Series or last generation consoles for potential future ports, as it focusses on releasing the game on PC and PS5 later this year.Hubbard went on to explain that “our philosophy is that we would rather be on fewer platforms at a higher quality than risk spreading ourselves too thin.”When pushed by The Loadout on the future of the game, Hubbard responded: “I can’t really comment on the future.

Paradox Interactive has released a colossal Hearts Of Iron IV dev diary to outline the changes coming to the Soviet faction in the upcoming Barbarossa update.The Soviet faction for Heart Of Iron IV is receiving a massive overhaul as many factions have over the game’s lifespan. To outline these changes, a thorough dev diary has been shared on the Paradox forum.

Paradox Interactive‘s WW2 grand strategy game, Hearts Of Iron IV, is currently available on Humble Bundle for just £0.72.The version offered at the lowest possible price is Hearts Of Iron IV: Cadet Edition. This edition includes the base game, Poland: United And Ready DLC, as well as wallpapers.