Paradox Interactive has announced the closure of its internal studio Paradox Tectonic following the sudden cancellation of its life simulation game project, Life by You.
Paradox Interactive Axes Life by You Studio 'Paradox Tectonic'
Former Developer Alleges That Studio Met Internal Metrics
The announcement of the closure of Paradox Tectonic, the studio behind the life sim game Life by You, was made on June 18 shortly following the cancellation of the game after numerous launch delays. Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester shared a statement on the company's website:
"This is difficult and drastic news for our colleagues at Tectonic, who've worked hard on Life by You's Early Access release," Wester wrote. "Sadly, with the cancellation of their sole project we have to take the tough decision to close down the studio. We are deeply grateful for their hard work in trying to take Paradox into a new genre."
screenshot taken from LinkedIn
In March, Paradox announced an indefinite delay for Life by You, and last week, the company ultimately canceled the project, citing a "clear failure to meet both our own and the community's expectations."
However, a former Life by You developer alleged that the team had "the rug pulled" from under them despite meeting the company's internal metrics. In a detailed LinkedIn post, Willem Delventhal, a former designer at the studio, stated that the game was doing extremely well before Paradox delayed it. He noted that his team had exceeded an "internal metric" and received a "thumbs up a few weeks before launch," which made the sudden cancellation all the more confusing.
Delventhal added that the team was not provided with a reason for the delay. "Instead, we spent a month in purgatory, and did everything we could to prove to them we were worth launching, including things like finding potential buyers or suggesting cutting ties and going indie. We heard virtually nothing back." He also mentioned that when the final decision was made, the developers were "only informed of this via a public announcement."
This cancellation is the latest in a series of setbacks for Paradox Interactive. As noted by Eurogamer, the company has faced the troubled development of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, the commercial failure of 2023's The Lamplighters' League, and the premature launch of Cities: Skylines 2 last October.
Source:
Paradox shuts down Life By You studio following Sims-like's sudden cancellation
Willem Delventhal's post
Former dev from sunken Sims competitor Life by You alleges the team had 'the rug pulled' from under them—despite outperforming the company's internal metrics
Paradox Interactive to close down Paradox Tectonic
