Tencent Buys 5% of Paradox Interactive - Ask Me Anything

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Selling off a share(even a small one) of a business is to raise money. With the huge success of Stellaris, and HOI4 just about to inject much cash into Paradox, why was now a good time to seek investors, when presumably, the cash flow situation should be very positive.

Expansion. That's why. In fact, with the success of Stellaris and the upcoming HOI4; the share prices should be high. So another massive cash inflow that can be invested into even bigger new games; or DLC and support for existing ones

They (the owners, not the company) are selling already existing shares, therefore the company will not see any new cash coming in. It could open up some strategic benefits though to have new owners, if they open up new markets (geographical / platform in this case) through their current portfolio and connections.

It could also help valuing the company if shares are traded publicly, so it is easier to purchase other companies for strategic mergers, using non cash issue (shares) to pay for the deals.
 
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Sounds like good business for Paradox, but I am skeptical and cautiously optimistic of your collaboration with Tencent.

That being said, I hope that it turns out okay!
 
I'm sure that Paradox knows what their doing and will make the right business decisions, I trust them. Tencent, I have substantially less trust for but they don't currently have a controlling interest in Paradox so I am not worried about it. I just hope they don't change the game substantially to please the Chinese government.

I will definitely be watching this closely!
 
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Does this include altering game versions to be more acceptable to the Chinese market, similar to the German version of HOI?
There are no plans for altering any game versions, from what I understand the German version was to cope with German law but I need to look into that to be a 100% certain.
 
You have told us that for Paradox it will be business as usual, and that you have no plans (yet) for any kind of expansion into China.
But what about Tencent? I'd imagine that an investor would have some sort of plan how to benefit from an investment. Or did they just take note about your IPO plans and considered it a sensibly priced opportunity, considering their size?

Can we expect a Crusader Kings Telenovela? Hearts of Iron, the anime series? A "@cKnoor & @Wiz searching for friends in China" scripted reality show? :D
When a company decides to list on the stock exchange, new opportunities open up. In this case it was good timing for both companies.
 
Selling off a share(even a small one) of a business is to raise money. With the huge success of Stellaris, and HOI4 just about to inject much cash into Paradox, why was now a good time to seek investors, when presumably, the cash flow situation should be very positive.
At the moment we are not raising money, but selling shares. On the other hand, a company should always seek money when you're not in desperate need. Desperation will force you to make bad decisions.
 
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Tencent and its subsidiaries have a history of stealing and profiting from the IP of Western game companies. How do you feel about that?

I am not sure exactly what you are referring to (which IP) but my personal opinion is that outright stealing IP and profiting from them should be illegal no matter what country.
 
Congratulations to Paradox. Really hope this will turn out to be a great opportunity.
The news has been spread out in Chinese fan groups. Since it's now clear that there won't be any "China-only" games, many are still wondering if Paradox are planning to alter the game content to please govt's censorship like the German version does. It's the worst thing that Chinese fans could expect. Chinese govt is really sensitive to games that involves Taiwan, Tibet or even Manchu and Qing Dynasty. Especially considering the original HOI game was banned in China.
Also, the majority of Chinese fans are experiencing difficulties since all Paradox games don't come with Chinese language. Will Paradox consider adding Simplified/Traditional Chinese to the game as part of the localization?
Many recent rumors in China are saying that Tencent wants to develop their Tencent Game Platform to overstep Steam's success in China. Will Paradox considering release games on Tencent's TGP other than Steam?
Overall, Chinese players are having a great time playing Paradox games in recent years. More and more ppl are joining local forums to discuss and share their fun playing paradox games. Paradox's switch to Steam allows it to deliver the most original and uncensored games to Chinese. A number of players are sharing high quality videos online and streaming their gameplay. I'm looking forward to see a positive impact.;)

Hello and thanks for your support; I really hope that we in the future can localize games into more languages, including Chinese. In the end this is a matter for the Product Team (Cost/Profit analysis) and the development team (support for double byte characters)
 
@Fredrik II , If your new relationship with Tencent turns out to be successful(I'm sure it will) is there a chance they could purchase a higher percentage of Paradox Interactive in the future?

Current owners have not expressed any interest in selling more shares, that's why the IPO was only for 15.5% of the company.
 
@Fredrik II I've been a little bit reluctant to ask this question as it's a sensitive issue I suppose, but I'd really like an answer.
Do think it's right to be dealing with a company that is directly linked to the communist party of china and have are dealing with some internet censorship for them?
 
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I think Paradox was already a great Gamedeveloper before the company Tencent was even a thought. I remeber playing EU before Dota mod in WC3 ROC. And that is how RIOT games and Tencent became famous. Since LOL was a simple copy of DOTA. I hope they dont make Paradox emulate the LOL way. Paradox roots mean a lot to the older generation gamers. Just like Volvo has a great history that the new chinese owners are abusing to sell more cars. (Swedes don't brag about Volvos made in sweden in Advertisment in Sweden with Zlatan!). I hope that Paradox can make a genuin grand strategy game that speaks to the history of asia and china not a cheap clone with paradox brandname. :) Mvh from a happy long term shareholder in Paradox Interactive!
 
No plans at all, but I would love an FPS in an American Civil War setting.


As CEO can you give decisions on what direction to pursue in game-making?

Or is your relationship with the rest of the company sort of a restaurant manager/chef type of thing where one administers and the other does all the kitchen work at their own autonomous discretion?
 
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As CEO can you give decisions on what direction to pursue in game-making?

Or is your relationship with the rest of the company sort of a restaurant manager/chef type of thing where one administers and the other does all the kitchen work at their own autonomous discretion?
I have very limited direct influence over the game-making process.
 
At the moment we are not raising money, but selling shares. On the other hand, a company should always seek money when you're not in desperate need. Desperation will force you to make bad decisions.

I'm glad to see the forward-thinking management. So many amazing game studios were one bad game from going under(and eventually, everybody makes a bad game). Paradox Games matter to me. I've been playing since EU1.
 
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With the current share price of 44 SEK, your assets in Paradox shares alone are now worth around 1.55 billion SEK, or 168 million euro.

So how does it feel becoming a multi-multi-multi millionaire over night?