Has there been any sign of Paradox moving away from Steam? If anything with the launch of Paradox Mods, I'd think that either a) they'll have titles on a range of storefronts (Steam, GoG, ParadoxPlaza) or just move to their own store only.
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- Jul 1, 2015
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Quite the opposite really
. This is straight from our CEO Ebba Ljungerud:“Our strategy continues to focus on broad cooperation with all leading distributors, both in the PC and the console space.”
Between The Outer Worlds and Phoenix Point (which thankfully Fig.co refunded my backer payment), I'm not liking the direction things are going in.
- Jul 1, 2015
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We aren't excluding any platform when it comes to selling our games but at the same time we aren't saying we will start releasing games exclusively on specific platforms. The more platforms a game is available on the bigger the reach for our audience. Then again, I'm not really the one making these decisions, but from Ebbas quote you should expect to see our games spread their wings and become available in more places.
I think we'd try to be a bit more upfront about anything like that. Bloodlines 2 is a good example, platforms/channels at announcement, very clear about our commitment.
Hey everyone, I've seen quite a lot of concerns and interrogations around here, so I will try to answer what I can (but mainly you should attend the full reveal on October 19th at PDXCON for all the info on Surviving the Aftermath). Not here to tell you what to think, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I feel I should be able to at least provide you the official answers and Paradox reasoning and position on this topic
Regarding mods, I can't answer to anything regarding StA specifically (once again, see you at PDXCON), but there is more than a single platform allowing the support of mods at the moment. We've been very open about developing our own modding platform https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/, with the ambition of supporting mods seamlessly on PC, and even on console, regardless of the store they were bought on. If you look at Cities Skyline & Surviving Mars, for example, the platform allows for mods availability both on Windows and Xbox, which is kinda cool if you ask me. So, mod support does exist without necessarily going back to the stone age of keeping with a dozen threads on various forums.
Regarding the early access happening on the Xbox Preview and Epic Game store, as it has been shared by our CEO and others from our management team, we've always been exploring various possibilities, distribution models and partners, and we feel this specific project is a great fit for exploring early access with those partners. It's good deal and an excellent opportunity for Paradox to explore new models like early access, and new partnerships in a very changing landscape when it comes to game distribution. It's also, and personally, that's what I'm most excited about, an excellent opportunity for the team working on StA to invest in major developments during the early access period, to have an even better game releasing on all platforms about a year later.
And don't get me wrong, we get how some of you could be upset with it, and how people generally, and some of our players strongly feel about their favorite platform when it comes to buying and playing their games. We totally respect that if it's the way you feel (as long as it's expressed respectfully ofc). But we have a pretty cool and exciting game to present to you, and feel like we'll be able to convince it to give it a go, at your convenience during early access period, or when it releases later on your favorite platform
Regarding mods, I can't answer to anything regarding StA specifically (once again, see you at PDXCON), but there is more than a single platform allowing the support of mods at the moment. We've been very open about developing our own modding platform https://mods.paradoxplaza.com/, with the ambition of supporting mods seamlessly on PC, and even on console, regardless of the store they were bought on. If you look at Cities Skyline & Surviving Mars, for example, the platform allows for mods availability both on Windows and Xbox, which is kinda cool if you ask me. So, mod support does exist without necessarily going back to the stone age of keeping with a dozen threads on various forums.
Regarding the early access happening on the Xbox Preview and Epic Game store, as it has been shared by our CEO and others from our management team, we've always been exploring various possibilities, distribution models and partners, and we feel this specific project is a great fit for exploring early access with those partners. It's good deal and an excellent opportunity for Paradox to explore new models like early access, and new partnerships in a very changing landscape when it comes to game distribution. It's also, and personally, that's what I'm most excited about, an excellent opportunity for the team working on StA to invest in major developments during the early access period, to have an even better game releasing on all platforms about a year later.
And don't get me wrong, we get how some of you could be upset with it, and how people generally, and some of our players strongly feel about their favorite platform when it comes to buying and playing their games. We totally respect that if it's the way you feel (as long as it's expressed respectfully ofc). But we have a pretty cool and exciting game to present to you, and feel like we'll be able to convince it to give it a go, at your convenience during early access period, or when it releases later on your favorite platform
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Can't comment on unannounced titles for obvious confidentiality reasons, but Bloodlines 2 and Empire of Sin have already announced the platforms they'll be available on.
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Ahah, not the easiest thread to participate in as there is a lot of negativity floating around! But we do value transparency in the communication with our community, and it's personnally one of the reason that had me join the company, so not going to shy away from it.
In that spirit and to try on answer some of the comments above; we don't shy away from the fact that this is a business deal. If you follow some of our business people on social media, or if you're a listener of the Paradox Podcast, you know we're quite upfront about trying to find the best deals for our company, products and players. It's not my personnal field of expertise, but I know first hand that we measure and take all those elements into account before taking any business decision.
In this specific case, we as a company feel like this brand, this game, this team, and our community for this game can benefit from this particular deal and setup. Does the money part of this kind of deal plays a role in the decision? Of course. Is it the only element that is taken into account to make those decisions? Of course not!
Edit: Adding to that, I would like to emphasize that this kind of decision making is made on a product basis, and at the product team level. So, it would be wrong to assume because one game is releasing, exclusive or not, on a specific platform; adopting a particular business model; or experimenting with a different development framework that it necessarily has implications for the whole portfolio.
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Anyway, that's I fear as much as I can share on this at the moment! I hope it does answer some questions and concerns for at least some of you. I respect those who respectfully disagree, at the end of the day you're all entitled to get excited for the game, and play it in one form or another, on one platform or another... or not at all! Even if I secretly hope we'll eventually convince you to get excited about it.
Sorry if some of you felt some of my messages sounded a bit too much like PR jargon, talking as a spokesperson for the company on a public forum ain't as easy at it seems. Hope the carefully crafted statements and sentences don't have you doubt their truth.
Sorry if some of you felt some of my messages sounded a bit too much like PR jargon, talking as a spokesperson for the company on a public forum ain't as easy at it seems. Hope the carefully crafted statements and sentences don't have you doubt their truth.
"Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!"
More seriously, I'm in territories where I'm not at liberty to share more at the moment. The game isn't fully revealed yet and I don't want to ruin any of the announcement planned for PDXCON. On the business deal side of things, it's going to be discussed in a future Paradox Podcast for sure, so I'd keep an eye for those. And I clearly recommend the podcast generally, not only because my boss does it, but because it's honestly one of the most transparent and full of information ressource about the business of games.
Regarding the immediate players benefits, in short: a better game with more content, and more frequent updates. This setup provides financial stability, resources and time for the project and its development team to make the game the best it can be, during early access, and preparing for its final release.
Regarding the long term benefit for Paradox, as also summarized before, it allows us to try new forms of development (early access on that case) and working with new partners to anticipate for the future. We're a learning and growing company in an ever-changing (now more than ever) field, so those opportunities are worth something as well, and will eventually benefit our community.
More seriously, I'm in territories where I'm not at liberty to share more at the moment. The game isn't fully revealed yet and I don't want to ruin any of the announcement planned for PDXCON. On the business deal side of things, it's going to be discussed in a future Paradox Podcast for sure, so I'd keep an eye for those. And I clearly recommend the podcast generally, not only because my boss does it, but because it's honestly one of the most transparent and full of information ressource about the business of games.
Regarding the immediate players benefits, in short: a better game with more content, and more frequent updates. This setup provides financial stability, resources and time for the project and its development team to make the game the best it can be, during early access, and preparing for its final release.
Regarding the long term benefit for Paradox, as also summarized before, it allows us to try new forms of development (early access on that case) and working with new partners to anticipate for the future. We're a learning and growing company in an ever-changing (now more than ever) field, so those opportunities are worth something as well, and will eventually benefit our community.
Likely because people haven’t had time to update it yet. Keep in mind PDXCON finished at around 2100 on Sunday, then people need to return to Stockholm, AND Paradox just moved offices (so I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a few IT teething issues with that).