Paradox Interactive
 | |
| Traded as | PDX |
|---|---|
| Industry | Interactive entertainment |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Stockholm, Sweden |
Key people |
Fredrik Wester (CEO) Johan Andersson |
| Products | Video games |
| Revenue |
 SEK 604 million (2015)[1] |
Number of employees | 200[2] |
| Subsidiaries | Paradox Development Studio |
| Website |
www |
Paradox Interactive is a Swedish video game publisher based in Stockholm. The company is best known for releasing historical strategy computer games. Paradox Interactive publishes its own games, both developed by their division, Paradox Development Studio, and those of other developers. It was formerly a division of Paradox Entertainment, rights holders of properties such as the Robert E. Howard character Conan.[3]
Ownership
On March 7, 2016, CEO Fredrik Wester stated in an interview with Di Digital that Paradox Interactive has launched the IPO process. The company will complete the process within the year with the intention of spreading ownership between employees and players of their games and "looking for long-term owners who want to take part in the Paradox journey."[4]
On May 31 2016, trading in Paradox Interactive commenced on Nasdaq First North under the symbol PDX.[1] The initial price offering was 33 SEK (3.96 USD)[5] valuing the company at 3,485 Million SEK (420 Million USD).
Game characteristics
The studio produces what it calls "grand strategy games", i.e. ones played on a real-world map, marked by the use of standard real-time elements but with an ability to make any and all changes even while paused. Almost all Paradox games have historical settings and demonstrate a reasonable commitment to historical accuracy. The focus of each game is different, but generally a player must manage the economy, commerce, internal politics, diplomacy, technological development, and military forces of a nation. Paradox Interactive games are also characteristically complex, with highly detailed gameplay models and consequently steep learning curves. Over time, in an appeal to sell games to a wider market, they have sold games which attempt to preserve the historical accuracy of previous games while attempting to make the games less complex.
Paradox regularly releases patches to their games long after a game's initial release. Some games have required patches shortly after release to make them playable.[6] Later patches may contain large changes to the game and the way the game is played, in response to the demands and requests of fans.
The games are mostly based on an open game engine (sandbox-style game) with no set "victory" condition. Paradox tries to make games that are open and easy to edit (moddable), from tweaking a saved game to creating an entirely new scenario. Modding can be accomplished with simple tools and basic knowledge of scripting. To assist modders to figure out how to edit the game on their own, the Paradox forums provide fan-compiled libraries of "how to" advice. Due to this, each game has a very large number of mods, ranging from minor additions to complete system overhauls.
Popular strategy games produced by Paradox Interactive include the Europa Universalis series and the Hearts of Iron series. Aside from games produced by its own development studio, Paradox also publish games from other studios. These include the survival horror Penumbra series, the action role-playing Magicka series and the Mount & Blade series. Paradox also collaborated with Colossal Order and published the simulation Cities in Motion series and Cities: Skylines, which has marked a new sales record of the company. According to Metacritic, the company's highest rated product is Pillars of Eternity, a computer role-playing game developed by Obsidian Entertainment and was released in March 2015.[7]
Paradox Interactive purchased White Wolf Publishing's assets, including World of Darkness and Vampire: The Masquerade, from CCP Games in October 2015.[8]
See also
References
- 1 2 "Year End Report". Report. Paradox Interactive. 2016-02-23. p. 1. Retrieved 2016-10-23.
- ↑ "Coworkers". Paradox Interactive. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
- ↑ "9th Circ. Nixes Appeal Over 'Conan The Barbarian' Rights". Law360. 22 Oct 2013.
- ↑ http://digital.di.se/artikel/paradox-interactive-gar-till-borsen 7 March 2016, Retrieved 8 March 2016
- ↑ "Exchange rate history".
- ↑ "My Dinner with Johan". Quarter to Three. 27 March 2008. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
- ↑ "Paradox Interactive". Metacritic. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
- ↑ Futter, Mike (October 29, 2015). "Paradox Purchases World Of Darkness, Vampire: The Masquerade Creator White Wolf Publishing". Game Informer. Retrieved October 29, 2015.