Paradox addresses “wrong calls” on several projects

Publisher Paradox Interactive has admitted that it made the “wrong calls” when it came to some its projects. This follows the cancelation of its Sims-like Life by You and the inevitable closure of Paradox Tectonic.

In its latest earnings report (via Eurogamer), Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester addressed the decisions, highlighting the Life by You situation. It made changes to its investment into “riskier” projects. He declares that, especially outside of its core, it has to change. He notes that the studio hasn’t taken up any sort of project similar to Life by You in terms of its high risk and cost.

“It is clear that we have made the wrong calls in several projects, especially outside of our core, and this must change. We have areas here where we need to improve, for example in production, quality and risk assessment. In 2021, we made major changes to how we invest in riskier projects, which means that we have not started new projects with the same combination of high risk and high costs as Life by You. We have taken steps forward in those efforts.”

The game’s cancelation led to a massive dip in quarterly operating profit (to the tune of 90%). Meanwhile, its revenue is also down by 22%. Wester does spin it around, though, noting the “core business has performed very well.”

Beyond this fumble of the life simulator genre, it also was partially responsible for the poor release of Cities: Skylines 2, which has since seen its console version slapped with a delay. It’s also not doing so hot, either, as it parted ways with Prison Architect 2 developer Double Eleven, though, the Brazillian support studio, Kokku, is working on its development.