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[Draugoth]

Financial highlights​

• According to its new interim report, Paradox reached SEK 482.1 million ($44.4 million) in revenue in Q1, down 0.1% year-over-year.
• Cities Skylines 1-2, Crusader Kings III, Hearts of Iron IV, and Stellaris were the main revenue drivers.
• Operating profit decreased by 1% year-over-year to SEK 154.4 million ($14.2 million).
• Cost of goods sold in the second quarter amounted to SEK 268.1 million ($24.6 million). This includes game development, support and operation of existing projects, royalties, and revenue-based payments to studios.
• The US accounted for 84% of Paradox’s total revenue in the quarter. The share of domestic sales (Sweden) was 3.8% (vs. 0.4% in Q1 2023), while the rest of Europe accounted for just over 10% of the total.
• PC remained the main platform by revenue, accounting for 83.8% of the total. It is followed by console (12%) and mobile (2.7%).
• “We have a very strong foundation with a large cash position and a solid recurring cash flow,” Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester said. “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 is also worth noting that Paradox’s headcount has been reduced by 55 employees over the past three months (649 employees as of December 31, 2023 vs. 594 as of March 31, 2023). The company didn’t announce any layoffs, so the reasons behind the staff reduction are unclear.

Game releases and areas for improvement​

In the first quarter, Paradox released one new title, 4X strategy title Millennia. It received mixed reviews from Steam users and peaked at 8,382 concurrent players.
Despite the initially mixed reception, Wester noted that “many players appreciated the game’s core mechanics, and we believe that there is a lot of potential to develop.” With Millennia, the company plans to gain a foothold in a new niche for itself, “creating a base from which we can continue to evolve in the genre.”
Paradox also launched new DLCs for its live games such as Crusader Kings III, Hearts of Iron IV, and Age of Wonders IV.
One of the major setbacks was the Beach Properties expansion for Cities: Skylines II. Released on March 25, it received less than 10% positive reviews — player feedback was so negative that the DLC soon was soon made free for all users.

The base game, which received huge criticism at launch last year, is still struggling to get positive feedback. Its recent score currently sits at just 26% positive

(“Mostly Negative”) based on 2,300 reviews left in the last 30 days. Users complain about performance, broken simulation, and the lack of overall fixes.

In his statement, Wester acknowledged the issues, saying that Colossal Order and Paradox are putting a lot of effort into improving the game.

“We have areas where we need to do better, not least, our games must maintain a good and consistent quality,” he noted. “In Cities: Skylines II in particular, we are well aware that lately we have not met the players’ expectations in this area; this will not stay the case.”

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Were the issue with Cities Skylines II primarily tech-related? I didn't realize it was that poorly received.

Edit: Can't wait to see the reaction to Vampire: Bloodlines 2 when that finally launches. Rough times ahead, no doubt.

 

[simpatico]

Seeing that Cities II actually scales on Threadripper made me look at it's perf problems differently.

 

[diffusionx]

Were the issue with Cities Skylines II primarily tech-related? I didn't realize it was that poorly received.

Edit: Can't wait to see the reaction to Vampire: Bloodlines 2 when that finally launches. Rough times ahead, no doubt.

No, the simulation model is completely fucked up too.

They shipped a beta game.

 

[StereoVsn]

They have not done well with newer games.

Imperator was released half baked and then they ended all support. That pissed off a lot of Paradox fan base especially because Patch 2.0 was very promising.

Victoria 3 came out half baked. It’s only getting to the point where it’s fun to play with the next patch/expansion.

City Skylines 2 is a hot mess. So many technical issues and very slow rate of content releases.

EU IV is very long in the tooth. Possibly their best game alongside HOI4 but it’s not going to see the next release till next year and then another year or two to get to a good state.

CK3 has been honestly middling and so has been fan base support. But it has done better vs before on consoles I think.

HOI IV is fine more or less.

Stellaris is kind of meh, not sure Paradox know where they are going with it.

Millennia has issues, but it has potential if they don’t drop support.

So it’s just they have been underperforming with their new releases from quality perspective, hence the current situation.

 

[AJUMP23]

They have made some great games. Didn’t know they generated so much revenue though.

 

[AzekZero]

Were the issue with Cities Skylines II primarily tech-related? I didn't realize it was that poorly received.

Edit: Can't wait to see the reaction to Vampire: Bloodlines 2 when that finally launches. Rough times ahead, no doubt.

It wasn't just tech-related.

The devs pushed a narrative at post-launch that the game was complete and the devs just needed a few weeks break before they'd come back, change a few numbers and fix the game.

I'm fine with buying unfinished, unpolished games, but I don't like the way the devs have tried to tell me the game isn't in that state.