***Pricing Change Rollback - Information Thread - UPDATED 11/09/17***

[Escher]

Hi,

Please see below the most recent statement from Fred:

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Hello all and thanks for your feedback, Following up from yesterday, this will sound a bit schizophrenic but I have really appreciated the reactions from this forum. I have spent the last 24 hours reading your comments and feedback and replying to email (fredrik.wester@paradoxplaza.com for all of you who didn't know it); during this time I came to a couple of conclusions:

1. In regards to the price changes you are absolutely right. You deserve more transparency and better communication from Paradox when it comes to changing of our prices and pricing policy. Therefore I have decided to roll back all price changes made; any price changes will have to be for future products well communicated in advance. I just came off the phone with Steam and they say we can't do the roll-back before the Summer Sale is over (otherwise it would mean we have to take all Paradox products off the summer sale) but it will be done right after. For anyone who bought any of the games during this time (including during the summer sale) we will try to refund (if possible in the Steam platform) or reimburse with games of a value exceeding the difference. If none of this is possible (I do not in detail know the limits to the Steam platform) we will internally calculate the difference in revenue before and after the price change, double the value, and donate the money to the UNHCR.

2. Some of the frustration has been expressed due to our DLC policy and how we handle additional content for our games. Since the release of Crusader Kings 2 (Feb 14, 2012) we have adopted a policy where we release paid content and at the same time content for free even if you do not want to pay for the DLC. This means that if you only paid for the original game, you still have a completely different game today with thousands of additions, upgrades and changes. This doesn't mean you should stop giving us feedback on how we conduct our business but if you straight out just hate our DLC policy I respectfully say that we have to agree to disagree.

3. I have promised myself never to give in to mob mentality; it's one of the worst things I know and a terrible way to convince me. In fact, being a pig-headed CEO of a company that has grown from 7 people to 225 during time I have had the privilege to run it, I have probably from time to time been more prone to say "no" than "yes" when people gang up on me/us to make us change our minds - I guess partly by principle not to cave in due to pressure. In this case, my change of stance has been made from communicating with people who have been active in our community for 10+ years, people who spent thousands of hours in our games and coming to the conclusions you find above.

Finally - as much as I love a good conspiracy theory; to be frank, the whole "Tencent bought 5% of Paradox and now they're all greedy" and "They're now a publicly traded company and therefore do things the market wish for" is below the level of intelligence of this community. I still hold 33.3% in Paradox, I am still CEO, board member and avid gamer. All you need to know is that the buck stops here. All problems/feedback can easily be sent my way, I will not always agree but I promise to listen.

Best
Fred
fredrik.wester@paradoxplaza.com

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We will update you regarding Fred's comments about refunds on Monday next week. Understandably this could be a big process with a lot of heavy-lifting for us, but we are dedicated to making it work as smoothly as we can. Please stay tuned for further information on Monday.

 

[Escher]

Hi all!

Since Fred’s statement on Thursday we have been investigating how we can best process the reimbursements that were mentioned. Fred outlined several possibilities and we are continuing to explore those.

Taking into account differing time-zones and the need for us to talk with sales partners about how to process refunds/credits on their platform, we need a bit more time to figure out how this is actually going to work.

Please continue to watch this thread for more news, this will always be the best place to find the most up-to-date information. We will post updates here as soon as we know more.

 

[Escher]

Just a reminder that we haven't forgotten about you! As it looks now we should have some concrete information regarding next-steps early-mid next week.

 

[Escher]

Hello people,

Here’s the latest on the price roll-back. Sorry for the wait, as you might imagine this is a somewhat complicated process so thank you for your patience whilst we sorted this out:

Prices on all Paradox products, in all currencies except USD (since USD prices were not changed), have reverted back to their pre-increase levels as of today. Additionally, now the price rollback has been completed prices will be frozen for a period of three months.

After exploring options with our sales partners, we’ve come to the conclusion that partial refunds (as in, refunding the price difference) aren’t practically possible. Instead, we will gift everyone who purchased any Paradox product between May 17 and today (including pre-orders of Steel Division: Normandy 44 made before May 17), in any currency except USD (where prices were not changed), a free copy of a full PC game or two DLC, as a gesture of goodwill.

The games on offer will be:

• Stellaris
• Hearts of Iron IV
• Crusader Kings 2
• Europa Universalis IV
• Magicka 2
• Tyranny

OR, if you prefer, TWO from the list of the following DLC:

• HoI IV: Death or Dishonor
• EU IV: Third Rome
• CK II: Monks and Mystics
• Stellaris: Utopia
• Tyranny: Tales from the Tiers

Should you happen to already own all of the above then the system will credit you equivalent giftable keys.

In order to claim your game/DLC’s you need to fill in the form at the following location: https://support.paradoxplaza.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=114093963414

IMPORTANT: We are accepting requests up to 23:59 CEST on the 9th August. You must submit your completed form by this date. Additionally, please note that you will not receive the content immediately, it will take some time for us to process all of the requests. The current deadline we are working towards is the 30th September 2017, check your email for further updates/next steps leading up to that date.

To be considered a “complete form” you need to include:

1. Your order ID
2. The currency used for the purchase
3. Details of the platform you redeemed your product on
4. A copy of your receipt
5. Your email
6. The requested product/s you’d like to receive

Finally, we’d like to take the opportunity to once again say we’re sorry about our handling of this issue. We value our community and the passion you have for our products, and we know we’re lucky to have you. Of course, it should go without saying that as a result of this experience we will be looking at our internal processes to ensure that we can improve for the future.


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Additional FAQ

FAQ GoG
Q: I bought my product from GoG, which products will I be able to claim?
A: You will be able to claim a free game or DLC from our catalog on GoG. If you already own everything or do not wish to have any of our products on GoG, you can choose a Steam key from the selected titles.

FAQ App Store
Q: I bought my product in the Apple store on my Mac, which products will I be able to claim?
A: You will be able to claim a free game from our Catalog on the app store. If you already own everything or do not wish to have any of our products from the app store, you can choose a Steam key from the selected titles.

FAQ Steam Key Re-seller and Steam
Q: I bought a Steam key through one of your approved re-sellers or the Steam store. Which products will I be able to claim?
A: You will be able to choose from the selected titles as mentioned in our main Pricing Discussion forum post.

FAQ Origin
Q: I bought a product on Origin, which products will I be able to claim?
A: The pricing update never went live on Origin, therefore you are NOT eligible.

FAQ Twitch
Q: I bought a product on Twitch, which products will I be able to claim?
A: Twitch only sells our products in USD, therefore you are NOT eligible.

FAQ General
Q: Who’s eligible for this?
A: Any customer who purchased one of our products (DLC, base game etc) from our approved re-sellers and didn’t pay in USD is eligible. The reason for this is that the USD price was never changed, hence you never paid the new, higher price point.

Q: How do I go about getting my requested games/DLC?
A: Please follow the instructions at the top of this post.

Q: I already own everything, what will I get?
A: You will receive Steam key/s for the product/s you choose from the selected titles.

Q: I made several orders during the price change, do I get one key per order?
A: No, each customer is eligible for one key, regardless of the number of orders or the size of the order/orders

Q: I don't own everything but want a key so I can give it to a friend, can I have one?
A: No, we will provide your account with ownership for a product that you do not own. The exception here is if you own everything (as per above). You can still ask for this in the description of the ticket as we may (please note, may) be able to work something out.

 

[AndrewT]

IMPORTANT: We are accepting requests up to 23:59 CEST on the 9th August. You must submit your completed form by this date.

As announced here, the window for submitting requests has now closed.

 

[TinyWiking]

Good morning everyone!
We are in the process of sending out emails with more information on how to claim the game/s to every user that opened a ticket. This should be done before the end of the day. If you opened a ticket but don't see the email by the end of the day please check your spam folder! A few notes to keep in mind:

• The link in the mail is valid until September 30th
• Only users who opened tickets will get this mail
• The mail includes an FAQ, please read it before contacting support

 

[TinyWiking]

Short update:
We've had several reports about users not being eligible despite buying the game from one of our partners using non-USD and redeeming them on their Steam account which happens to use USD. When this happens the script will tell you that you aren't eligible.

Don't worry .
As long as it was bought from a partner and your receipt shows you are eligible you will get your game/s. It will just have to be done manually and will take a little longer as we will have to compile all requests before moving forward!

 

[TinyWiking]

Just a reminder that everyone that opened a request has been contacted via mail. If you didn't get a reply that means you didn't open a ticket and you are not eligible.

- If you got a reply about your ticket being closed but didn't get the original unique link please open a ticket (link in my signature) and we will send it to you again.
- The link EXPIRES on September 30th! If you don't claim your games before then we will NOT help you and provide you with them after that date.