Paradox Interactive, Masters of Their Domain
When it comes to strategy games, Paradox Interactive has been a mainstay publisher and in-house developer of the genre for well over a decade now. They have a storied history of successful original releases, with titles like Victoria, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, Europa Unversalis, and Stellaris. Adding titles like Age of Wonders, Battletech, Prison Architect, and Cities: Skylines by way of developer acquisition has only bolstered their portfolio within the industry.
Me, personally? I’ve made a lot of good memories with what Paradox has managed to put out. Hell, as of writing this message, I have 718 hours combined in just Hearts of Iron IV and Stellaris alone. Building an empire hell-bent on world (or galactic) domination just scratches a particular itch of mine. No, this is not a weird fantasy to have. This is a world domination safe space! No judgment shall be passed, if I have anything to say about it!
Over the past number of years, I’ve begun to fall out of love with Paradox and its work. Sure, the games are still enthralling, but something has changed. New in-house releases from Paradox are broken on launch, DLC is cash-grabby, and game support is lackluster. I think it’s high time Paradox righted its ship before they face an exodus of its most loyal fans. In this article, I hope to briefly explain and critique the recent business practices of Paradox Interactive.
Meaningful Mechanics
Okay, so I’ve spent 718 hours of my life between two ‘map-painting’ grand strategy games. So what? What makes a Paradox game, a Paradox game? From the get-go, mainline Paradox games became well-known for micromanagement mechanics. In any of their mainline titles, players can manage trade routes, build individual city buildings, and even manage things like cultural unity.
The mechanics are so intricate, that it’s easy to get caught up in the smallest details of your empire. This sense of multifaceted complexity also means there’s a steep learning curve. However, if this curve can be overcome by the player, it usually creates a sense of loyalty to these titles. My hundreds of hours played certainly aren’t unique, and there are many faithful players whose hours dwarf mine.
With this loyalty, Paradox Interactive titles have lent themselves extremely well to a vibrant modding community. With a set of such specific mechanics and a world map as the template, individuals have created passion project mods that sometimes completely transform a Paradox title into something new.
Take the “Old World Blues” mod for Hearts of Iron IV, for instance. What was once a World War II geostrat simulator, now becomes a spiritual Fallout strategy release. As of the writing of this article, the mod has amassed 387,772 current subscribers on the Steam Workshop. Many could argue that this mod, a complete overhaul, is more robust than any DLC produced by Paradox Interactive themselves.
Predatory Practices of Paradox Interactive
Masters of Their Demise
After releasing so many iterations of its titles in such a short timeframe, Paradox quickly shifted to DLC-heavy development cycles in the early 2010s. Using the Universalis title as an example, it isn’t hard to see the formula. Europa Universalis IV was released in 2013 and has 37 downloadable pieces of content on its Steam store page. Four of these are free, meaning the game averages around 3 pieces of DLC released per year of age. To put it bluntly, they’ve milked this game for everything they can get out of it, and then some. Of course, from a development perspective, it’s much cheaper to focus on DLC instead of new iterations of a title.
One could even say a DLC-heavy strategy is normal in this era of monetization. It certainly isn’t abnormal for developers in this day and age, to drip feed content in return for cash. That being said, Europa Universalis IV isn’t a unique case. Every other mainline Paradox Interactive release gets this treatment, and fans of multiple titles (like myself) feel bled dry. Downloadable content can range anywhere from 10 to 20 USD per piece, before tax and without discount. So, if you’re a fan of multiple titles, even buying 10 pieces could easily run you $200 plus tax.
This exorbitant price point doesn’t even take into account the increasingly poor quality of DLC released. Hearts of Iron IV’s newest country pack, “Trial of Allegiance”, is proof of an undercooked offering. With 31% of 1,626 current reviews of the addition being positive, developers were forced to acknowledge its shortcomings publicly in a recent dev diary. This response from developers seemed dismissive, and failed to acknowledge what players are actually annoyed with: This DLC is a thinly-veiled and poorly-made attempt at monetizing an old title.
Season Pass Shenanigans from Paradox Interactive
As if the aforementioned DLC practice wasn’t enough, it gets worse. Having their customers overextended with copious amounts of add-ons, Paradox Interactive recently introduced an expansion pass model. Yes, you read that right. There’s such an overwhelming amount of downloadable content available, that you can choose to be charged monthly for it. The ironic thing is that this was done as a countermeasure to DLC-related criticism.
This pass was created to be a more equitable way of experiencing features for a reduced cost. Let’s just gloss over the fact that you won’t actually own anything if you choose to cancel. Currently, this pass is offered for Europa Universalis IV (shocker), Stellaris, and Hearts of Iron IV. These will run you around $8-10 monthly, depending on the game. Victoria 3 also has one, but is currently just a one-time payment of $40. Victoria’s pass essentially just lets you buy and own preorder bonuses after the fact.
Victims of Neglect
With such intense focus on developing DLC content, some games under the Paradox Interactive umbrella were initially neglected, and later outright abandoned. This has been true in the case of Imperator: Rome, Empire of Sin, and Star Trek: Infinite. As a history buff, I really saw a lot of potential in Imperator: Rome. Its release state in 2019 was unbalanced, but I was gladly willing to sit through the post-launch process. Less than two full years later in 2021, game updates halted completely.
Just this past October, Star Trek: Infinite was published by Paradox Interactive through Nimble Giant Entertainment. Built on the Stellaris game system, it mimicked the “New Horizons” total conversion Star Trek mod. Already burnt by an abandonment, I waited for this game to get its feet beneath itself before purchasing. As of writing, the game was unceremoniously left to die following its last patch in December of 2023. However, how would fans know for certain – the developers have seemingly chosen to let radio silence speak for itself.
Aside from feeling betrayed as a Trekkie, this ill-fated endeavor is simply hard to understand from a business perspective. Paradox Interactive and its subsidiary acquired a well-known license to stamp on a Stellaris frame, only to throw it away after two months of patchwork? According to my friend who’s played (and refunded), ships in-game didn’t even utilize iconic phaser sound effects. With some TLC, this could’ve been Star Trek’s version of Star Wars: Empire at War. Not to mention, its low $30 price tag could’ve legitimized microtransactions. Instead, it becomes another ‘what-if’ moment for fans of both the IP and strategy genre. Excuse me, while I look up a few choice words for this debacle in Klingon.
Hope on the Horizon?
Things look incredibly bleak right now, but maybe hope isn’t completely lost in the case of Paradox Interactive. On some level, the company that produced strategy classics still exists. They do regularly provide free content in the form of feature updates, usually alongside a DLC release. They have released the long-anticipated Victoria 3 in 2022, albeit in a broken and unbalanced launch state. Paradox devs seem passionate about the products they create. But the overarching business model obfuscates this passion. Stringing together overpriced and undercooked secondary content for decrepit titles is not a sustainable or respectable business model.
The company also needs to take things back to basics and release a fair-priced and well-made title from launch. After this, they can pivot to larger, more fulfilling add-ons to further monetize. Helldivers 2 is proof enough that when a base product is thoroughly enjoyed, people will gladly hand over extra money to enhance their experience. Paradox Interactive has rightfully lost the trust of its base for a quick buck as of late, and it will need to reclaim its greatness through transparent practices going forward.
