Imperator: Rome - Status Update (Apr 2021)

[Dnote]

@Dnote

Would you be able to highlight the main reasons that made you (as PDX) decide to halt development on Imperator and instead support other projects?

I can't go into the specifics, but at the high level it comes down to the people we have and what they can do.

PDS has grown year on year for the last decade or more, our team size today is triple the size it was ten years ago when EU4 and CK2 launched. As the games get more complex and as we/you demand higher quality (yes, we miss this bar quite a bit), we need to keep growing those teams and recruitment can't always keep up, especially in this last year where the pandemic has had a real impact on recruitment (a large percentage of our hires are from overseas and need to relocate to Stockholm).

We needed to make a decision that considered the health of all PDS projects, across the three new studios. And that meant putting a hold on Imperator and moving those talented people to other projects.

Sure, its a fairly cold hearted decision at the end of the day, and no one here at Paradox, either in the studios or publishing, was happy about it, but it was necessary at this time.

 

[Limak]

I'm massively disappointed by this news.
You had one of the most engaging period of history with personalities like Caesar, Scipio, Hannibal, Alexander, Crassus, Pompey, Vercingetorix and many others and despite all the history and events happening we ended up with a mediocre game at best.

For the love of Jupiter next time PDX (in 10 years or so) come back into the Classical world just have this game focused on Gens (families), bring out the characters and just completely forget of this mixed blend you tried here because clearly it does not work! We got a game about Rome without the politics and cursus honorum, you completely missed the point of this era which revolved around charismatic personalities that influenced the State and the people around.

I bought every single piece of DLC and supported till the very last but you giving up on this showed you really need to learn a thing or two from the CK team on how to make a game truly engaging.

Thanks anyways for the time and effort you put into this project.
A disappointed classicist

 

[Ipsissimus]

Very disappointing news. Sad day today.

 

[Lamisatr]

This is PR spin. Rather than say development is coming to an end, they're saying it is being paused. In the end, unsurprisingly, the economics won the day, this was always going happen if engagement did not increase.

It's about money, the rest is BS.

What a great week for PDS, another epic disaster on EUIV and then they shut down one of their best games, I have to say PDS have lost all my respect as a studio, but I have no problem with the devs etc who do their best while being clearly under-resourced.

 

[JellyMajster]

Why it's the Imperator, not Empire of Sin for example getting this treatment :<

 

[phoranix]

Hi all, Arheo here.

As mentioned above, many of the faces you've become used to seeing in relation to Imperator will be moving on to utilise their talent in support of new projects.

2.0 was, and will remain a seminal moment in Imperator's history. The reception from the players has been overwhelming, and we are beyond proud of what the team has accomplished.

I will also be joining the team in their exodus to projects various, so I wanted to take this opportunity to thank the I:R team, our community and fans for crafting Imperator into a strong, unique element in the PDS repertoire.

I have confidence that Imperator will continue to grow towards the vision we created for it, and I will continue to be present both here and elsewhere for further conversation regarding the best PDS game

/Peter

you've all done a fantastic job. I did not,but since the 2.0 I love to play R:I. Tx.

 

[Craksus]

Sad day. Someday Imperator will revive with number 2.... like vicky 3.

 

[KBKDB]

I can't go into the specifics, but at the high level it comes down to the people we have and what they can do.

PDS has grown year on year for the last decade or more, our team size today is triple the size it was ten years ago when EU4 and CK2 launched. As the games get more complex and as we/you demand higher quality (yes, we miss this bar quite a bit), we need to keep growing those teams and recruitment can't always keep up, especially in this last year where the pandemic has had a real impact on recruitment (a large percentage of our hires are from overseas and need to relocate to Stockholm).

We needed to make a decision that considered the health of all PDS projects, across the three new studios. And that meant putting a hold on Imperator and moving those talented people to other projects.

Sure, its a fairly cold hearted decision at the end of the day, and no one here at Paradox, either in the studios or publishing, was happy about it, but it was necessary at this time.

You do realise people will not forget this, right? You do realise that this will reflect poorly on you in your other games, right?

 

[Shogun96]

I can't go into the specifics, but at the high level it comes down to the people we have and what they can do.

PDS has grown year on year for the last decade or more, our team size today is triple the size it was ten years ago when EU4 and CK2 launched. As the games get more complex and as we/you demand higher quality (yes, we miss this bar quite a bit), we need to keep growing those teams and recruitment can't always keep up, especially in this last year where the pandemic has had a real impact on recruitment (a large percentage of our hires are from overseas and need to relocate to Stockholm).

We needed to make a decision that considered the health of all PDS projects, across the three new studios. And that meant putting a hold on Imperator and moving those talented people to other projects.

Sure, its a fairly cold hearted decision at the end of the day, and no one here at Paradox, either in the studios or publishing, was happy about it, but it was necessary at this time.

Thank you for your reply. I understand that there are other reasons for singling out Imperator as opposed to other games. I just hope that you realize that this game still has great opportunities for growing, even without a big dev team. While Imperator might not be the cash cow that Eu4 or Hoi4 are, it could surely be testament of what PDX devs can do when their work with a clear vision of they want to do (cough cough Leviathan).

Still, I guess we will see

 

[svalan_i_dalen]

Why it's the Imperator, not Empire of Sin for example getting this treatment :<

Empire of sin is not PDX Studio. Only published by PDX.

 

[ashandresash]

Why it's the Imperator, not Empire of Sin for example getting this treatment :<

Empire of Sin is developed by an external studio, so as publishers I suppose they can 'squeeze' them a little more.

But, that said, abandoning Imperator while Empire of Sin will be actively promoted in PDXCon (it has several panels in the Convention) won't look good.

 

[JellyMajster]

Empire of Sin is developed by an external studio, so as publishers I suppose they can 'squeeze' them a little more.

But, that said, abandoning Imperator while Empire of Sin will be actively promoted in PDXCon (it has several panels in the Convention) won't look good.

I mean if the numbers are indicators, this makes no sense. Empire of Sin is dead in terms of player base. IR has much more...

 

[Lord Finnish]

Sad to see this happen, but perhaps there is gratitude that we even made it this far. It was certainly quite an adventure. I pre-ordered the game and liked it always, I've had many great playthroughs in this.

 

[Cadzon]

I think we all had a feeling it was coming sooner or later (the numbers speak for themselfs, steamcharts). I appreciate the honesty (yeah this is as honest it can get, they can't share everything).

Thank you for everything regarding IR, and I hope development will start again some time in the future.
Also good to see that ppl are not giving them to hard time from the decision even tho it sucks for us.

 

[Decius]

I feared it a bit and now it's real

This is so sad, because I:R had so much potential. If only 2.0 was the release version, I think that would have lead to more sold copies and higher chances for a long term support like the other GSGs receive(d). The classical era is my favourite time span and therefore it's especially sad for me, that I:R faces this fate. I'm really worried, what this means for the future of I:R (if there really is one) and also for a I:R 2, which might never come or only after a decade or longer.

I waited so long for a paradox GSG in the classical era and now it's the game, that is more or less abandoned (Even after 2021 I wouldn't be surprised, if the game won't receive further updates and if, I guess with low priority and this one year of abondoned time is very bad for the game).

@Arheo @Dnote I don't know the internal analysis from paradox about I:R, but I hope the conclusion is not, that nobody wants a GSG in the classical era (which combines multiple features like I:R especially did after 2.0). I hope that the conclusion is, that a I:R 2 needs a longer development time in the first place, before releasing it. As far as I know it got less than CK III, which turns out to be the wrong way. (If my information is correct)

But thank you for 2.0. At least the game didn't die with a version prior to it. And thanks you for the turn around you achieved. Sad that most players didn't give the game a second chance in the long term.

 

[LeSingeAffame]

Oh, and what does it mean for the new team that was brought to create the Wonders?

And as is said, don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.

 

[Traxium318]

Cult movies/games are not appreciated first, they need time. Alas, time is money. We are living in strange times.

Can´t wait for Imperator: Rome Remastered in 2033.

 

[Lamisatr]

You do realise people will not forget this, right? You do realise that this will reflect poorly on you in your other games, right?

They don't care about what the IR player-base thinks, that's crystal clear. They don't even care about what the EUIV base thinks and that's huge as they keep dumping all over them.

 

[MohawkWolfo98]

Will there be development of Imperator post 2021?

 

[ashandresash]

I mean if the numbers are indicators, this makes no sense. Empire of Sin is dead in terms of player base. IR has much more...

I don't know the terms in the publishing contract between Paradox and Romero Games, but I assume that Paradox would have made a fine investment in the game, and Romero would have some duties on post-launch support, that Paradox will be strongly demanding right now. I'd say Paradox is not spending more money on it, just trying to 'squeeze' its already done investment.