Paradox Interactive has announced that the long-delayed The Sims-style life simulator Life by You has been officially canceled in today’s post on his website.
Paradox Interactive has released a statement from CEO Fredrik Wester explaining this decision on your website. The full statement reads as follows:
Paradox Interactive (Paradox) decided today to cancel the launch of Life by You. This means that the second quarter of 2024 will be negatively affected by the amount of SEK 208 million resulting from the write-off of total capitalized game development costs.
For a long time we had hopes for Life by You and the potential we saw in it, but now it has become clear that the game will not be able to meet our expectations. The release we would be elated with is too far away, so we are making the complex decision to cancel the release. Going forward, we should perform at a much higher level and it is obvious that we have work ahead of us, said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive.
We have performed poorly in recent releases, West continued. Although we are now starting fresh projects in a different way, it is clear that we need to make further changes to ensure that quality is more consistent and the promises we make to our players are fulfilled. We need to evaluate how we manage projects and how we organize ourselves because we will and must improve. We have a very solid financial situation and a robust gaming portfolio, which gives us confidence in our future.
This disclosure contains information that Paradox Interactive AB is obliged to make public in accordance with the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU No. 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication via the contact person on June 17, 2024 at 21:45 CET.
The cancellation of Life by You marks the final installment of what, by Paradox’s own admission, has been a years-long rocky period that has impacted the last few games and their development process. Cities Skylines 2 had a disastrous launch that Paradox is still trying to come to terms with, over eight months after launch, and Steam reviews for the city builder remain mixed.
Prison simulator Prison Architect 2 has also been the victim of numerous delays, the most recent of which pushed its release date to September due to “all-too-frequent unexpected issues.” Paradox’s Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 also experienced a tumultuous development that saw several years of delays, the departure or layoff of several senior employees, and ultimately a change of developers. Fortunately, the game appears to be back on track after fresh gameplay footage was revealed in January.
Will Borger is a freelancer for IGN. You can find him on Twitter @bywillborger.