Paradox admits it needs “to do better” in Q1 report

Paradox Interactive

Paradox Interactive, renowned as a developer and publisher of strategy games, has posted an interim financial report covering the first quarter of the calendar year 2024, in which CEO Fredrik Wester admitted that the company has “areas where we need to do better, not least, our games must maintain a good and consistent quality.”

In particular, he mentioned the ongoing affairs around Cities: Skylines 2, which recently had to refund a DLC in order to curb player backlash. “We are well aware that lately we have not met the players’ expectations in this area; this will not stay the same,” Wester wrote.

Overall, Wester sees the company in a good position for the rest of the year: “Our core business has held a strong pace during the first period of the year, with good underlying sales, which gives a good result. We have a very strong foundation with a large cash position and a solid recurring cash flow. This gives us a good position for taking advantage of the opportunities that open up in a games market that is turbulent at the moment.”

It looks like Paradox’s and C Prompt Games’ recently released turn-based 4X game Millennia, which got a mixed reception, won’t suffer the same fate as The Lamplighters League in 2023. Wester wrote that “it's clear that many players appreciated the game's core mechanics, and we believe that there is a lot of potential to develop.”

He also indicated that Millennia was an experiment of sorts for Paradox, which may mean that the company is planning further advances into this genre.

In 2024, Paradox will launch Foundry and its The Sims competitor Life by You as Early Access titles and has expansions for its staple grand strategy catalog planned. Overall, it’s got ten games in the pipeline.

Aside from the “big three” – Crusader Kings 3, Hearts of Iron 4, and Stellaris – Paradox gave credit to the original Cities: Skylines as well as the controversial sequel as revenue drivers, which suggests that Cities: Skylines 2 is generating solid income despite the drama around it.

Compared to the same period last year, Paradox’s operating profit decreased by 1% with very similar revenues – that’s stable, alright.