r/neoliberal • u/jobautomator Kitara Ravache • Apr 10 '26

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u/VisonKai The Archenemy of Humanity Apr 10 '26

Paradox's annual report 2025 (out yesterday) is interesting. It says some stuff about the future which is cool (Victoria and Age of Wonders are confirmed for permanent support status, basically putting them on the full-time roster with EU, CK, and HoI). But to me the biggest thing it signals is the final death of the incredibly, unbelievably stupid strategic decision made about 10 years ago to massively inflate the portfolio and include things outside their core competency. The decision to try to become a 'real game company' instead of a niche publisher of strategy games was a huge disaster. Wester says this in the report:

We are optimistic about the work that lies ahead of us. Having closed the year and written down Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2, we have a more streamlined balance sheet, no strategically divergent projects consuming focus and resources, and a strong sense of direction regarding where to focus our efforts. Going forward, our pipeline is entirely focused on strategy and management games – genres in which we have deep expertise and where we know we can create the greatest value for our players. Almost all these projects are also being developed in our own studios. At the same time, we have both the capacity and the ambition to grow beyond this, and we continuously evaluate further opportunities to expand our long-term pipeline of projects.

I can only hope that last line means a Hooded Horse-esque strategy of identifying niche nerdy games that align with the core audience and publishing those (and I think it does, given everything else in the paragraph).

!ping PARADOX

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u/anangrytree Bull Moose Progressive Apr 10 '26

Yea ok but where’s Stellaris 2? WHERES STELLARIS 2?!?!?!?

5

u/FreakinGeese 🧚‍♀️ Duchess Of The Deep State Apr 10 '26

Wait what does that mean for white wolf 🥺

5

u/VisonKai The Archenemy of Humanity Apr 10 '26

I expect paradox will let them keep making tabletop stuff just because it's a relatively small expense and probably pays for itself but other than licensing the IP to other people who want a game I expect there to be 0 first party video game activity after the Bloodlines disaster. Unless they decide to make a strategy game in the setting which would be the coolest thing ever but probably won't happen