Fredrik Wester, Paradox Interactive CEO, has claimed it a "release" to not be reliant on retailer sales for their games, which are now "like a bonus".

He notes we "don't really need" retail chains any more, which have "not been good" for the industry - stifling creativity. It's "really relieving" to speak about it.


Paradox has a number of recognised titles under their belt like Mount & Blade, King Arthur and Magicka. Not to mention the huge strategy IP franchises like Europe Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Victoria and more. Retailers aren't a concern to Paradox anymore.

CEO Wester said that "this year we’re close to ninety percent of our revenue being digital. Retail sales are like a bonus for us now. We don’t really need retailers anymore and that is a release because retailers have not been good for the industry. They’ve not been good for the creative part of the industry, for finding new cool games.”

“People complain to publishers that there are only sequels on the market, but that’s because retailers want to see sequels, because they can do their chart diagrams for how things sell and things like that. So one of the things preventing more creative gaming has been the retail challenge.” Publishers tend to shy away from new IP because of the risks.

“I can only say this now because we’re not depending on them, so it’s really relieving to be able to say that," added Wester. Paradox's main digital partner is Valve's Steam, followed by the once Paradox-owned Gamesgate. Magicka has sold 600k since launch.

Will the games industry ever throw off the 'shackles of retailer oppression'?
Source: PC Gamer

Paradox Interactive released a trailer for their new strategy game Warlock: The Master of the Arcane at PAX, but nothing was known of it save what was hinted at in the trailer. The publisher released a press release detailing more of what the game is about.

Warlock is a turn-based strategy game in which the player takes on the role of a Great Mage and builds an empire and armies to compete with other Mages. The game offers a wide range of military units –three different races, along with summons and wild creatures – as well as providing dozens of spells, from which players can discover powerful spell combinations. Players can also side with gods to aid them with their empire. The game will also include city management, balancing military strength and magic harvesting.

In short, it sounds a little like Master of Magic, Microprose's old 1995 Civilization-meets-Magic the Gathering game.

Warlock: The Master of the Arcane will be released in Summer 2012.

Grand strategy fans Paradox Interactive have fired up the website for Hearts of Iron The Card Game, which is free-to-play in the browser. Starter pack offered.

From now until October 17th, new players to the game get a special starter pack for nothing. We choose between the Axis, Allies, or Comintern with 140 cards.

"Hearts of Iron The Card Game takes the Hearts of Iron universe in a new direction as a collectible card game," said Jörgen Björklund, producer at Paradox Interactive.

“Now we’re launching the game and invite players to check it out with a special starter deck that is free for a limited time. Anyone interested in checking it out should go grab the free special edition deck because we’ll retire some of the cards at the end of the month and then you’ll only be able to get them from other players through trades.”

Those included in the special starter pack are:
• Zavod No. 38 – a Comintern card that enables players to play or repair one T-70 or Su-76 tank
• Panzer Repair Shop – an Axis card that lowers the cost of tank repairs by 3 ammunition
• Plentiful Ammunition – an Allies card that unpins all artillery units

Players challenge opponents through the browser game with around 140 unique cards to be used and traded, representing "authentic World War II vehicles, strategies and events." A deck editor lets you customise your hand to your play style.

You can check out a beginner's guide on the official Paradox forums. Visit the official Hearts of Iron The Card Game website for more information.

Heh heh. I should have gotten Sword of the Stars earlier. Damn this game is addictive alright.

Allow me to explain.

Randomised tech-tree. Each game will net you a different tech tree, depending on your luck. You may be able to research that nifty PD guns this game, but the next you may get Shields instead.

Wildly different playstyle for each race. For example, Humans use AI-War-esque wormhole thingy to travel between stars, while Liir (space dolphins) use a more conventional FTL drive and go anywhere but slow down when they near a planet. And so on. Each race have their own unique strength and weaknesses which forces you into a radically different playstyle. (Did I mention the galaxy map is 3D? Oh yes.)

Boss encounters. Oh yes, just when you think you had that empire by the throat, a Planet Killer shows up at your homeworld and proceeds to massacre it.  Ain't pretty.

3D (sort of) tactical battle. Although the interface are aligned on a 2D plane for simplicity's sake, all of the ships and physics are represented on a 3D battlefield. Your ships may go up or down if they need to.

So yeah. Fan of 4X space games? Get this. It's on for $5 until Oct 29 on Steam.

At Paradox's annual showcase in Stockholm, Sweden, the company revealed a new title for the PC called Napoleon’s Campaigns II, which will be released in Q4 2012.

Napoleon's Campaigns II is the heir of the original Napoleon's Campaign. In the game you'll be able play an historical scenario covering the whole of the Napoleonic Wars, ten years of conflict in Europe and the rest of the world between 1805 and 1815.

Features include the production of units, diplomacy with other nations (minor and major), army and fleet management, and the quest for becoming the dominant power of Europe, the goal of every major nation involved.

In addition, the French will have to satisfy the ‘Napoleonic Glory’ goal, a concept rendering the dynastic appetite of the Emperor. Napoleon’s Campaigns II will include the largest Napoleonic Europe map created, along with a multiplayer mode for up to 8 players.

Napoleon’s Campaigns II will be released exclusively for the PC in Q4 2012.

Fredrick Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive, has admitted that releasing Sword of the Stars 2 in the state it was in was a "big mistake", and that the game was a failure.

Speaking at the recent Paradox Convention, Wester said: "Sometimes you’re stuck in a situation where you can only choose between two really bad outcomes. Looking back I’m not sure what I could have done."

Sword of the Stars II was released at the end of October last year with a lot of bugs and entire features missing, forcing Paradox to offer compensation to soothe angry consumers.

The developers have been patching the game non-stop since launch, and even now it still needs some work. Wester takes most of the blame, although he admits that Paradox has learned and changed the way they work as a result.

"We’re changing our QA processes based on this game, and we’re changing the whole model of how we make games with third parties. We’ve added amendments to existing contracts to prepare, to try and stop it from happening again."

"But it was bad, and I’m the first to admit it was my fault and we’re doing our best to fix it."

gave up on EU4.. really too difficult for me.. give me more stress than pleasure.

-perma placed my 2 diplomats on France and Aragorn coz earlier they decimated me.. had to reload to do this to avoid OP France invading my country Castille.
-managed to explore south america but have all my fleets sunk due to attrition
-only 1 troops there.. encountered natives slowly slaughtering me. unable to colonize due to unable to build port yet to make it nearer (closest is 234 range..require diplomacy lvl4 now only 3). problem is they keep slaughtering each time I try to get to the closest coastal city...
-then suddenly.. ta-da.. gunpowder makes my troops useless.. i chose the 1st option coz wanna save 300 gold.. suddenly so many peasants revolt appear in my country.. kill 3 stacks.. 3 more appear..

sien d rage quit. Playing on Easy mode + bonus also can end up like this. I'd rather not play anymore. Back to other good old strategy games.. don't mind them being more fake at least they are fun and not giving me so much stress.