Paradox Development Studio

{{Short description|Swedish video game developer}} {{Distinguish|Paradox Development}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox company | name = Paradox Development Studio | logo = File:Paradox Development Studio Logo.png | caption = | type = Subsidiary | foundation = {{start date and age|1995}} | location_city = Stockholm | location_country = Sweden | location = | locations = | area_served = Worldwide | key_people = Johan Andersson (Studio manager) | industry = Video games | products = ''Europa Universalis'', ''Hearts of Iron'', ''Victoria'', ''Crusader Kings'', ''Imperator'', and '' Stellaris'' series | services = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | owner = | num_employees = 150 (2021)<ref name="forum">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2021 |title=Update of the organization at PDS |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/update-of-the-organization-at-pds.1471119/ |access-date=11 March 2022 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref> | parent = Paradox Interactive | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = | dissolved = | footnotes = }} '''Paradox Development Studio''' ('''PDS''') is a Swedish video game developer founded in 1995. It is closely associated with its parent company and video game publisher, Paradox Interactive. It is best known for its grand strategy wargame series ''Europa Universalis'', ''Hearts of Iron'', ''Victoria'', ''Crusader Kings'', ''Stellaris'', and ''Imperator''.

==History== PDS is based on the heritage of the Swedish board game company Target Games, and has been a game developer of PC-focused grand strategy games since 1995, including the ''Europa Universalis'', ''Hearts of Iron'', ''Victoria'', ''Crusader Kings'', ''Stellaris'', and ''Imperator'' series. The company continued to create PC games and in 1999, the company was divided into two separate entities: Paradox Interactive, which focused on creating grand strategy games for PC, and Paradox Entertainment, which focused on creating board and role-playing games.

In January 2012, the company divided yet again into two studios, becoming Paradox Interactive and Paradox Development Studio. Paradox Interactive became the game publisher focused on PC games of various genres and Paradox Development Studio became the game development studio focused on grand strategy games.

The game development studio was one of the first video game developers to create games in the grand strategy genre, and most of the games the studio has developed fall into that category. Grand strategy games are strategy games that usually cover the entire world map and include elements such as economy, diplomacy and warfare.

===Studios=== In 2021, Paradox announced that its former wholly organized development-division ''Paradox Development Studio'' was reorganized and split into several individual internal development teams, with each one handling one of the Paradox's own IPs respectively, whereas PDS was initially split into ''PDS Gold''{{efn|Initially called PDS Yellow<ref name="ParadoxPlaza_PDS-Gold">{{Cite web |date=1 May 2021 |title=Update of the organization at PDS |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/update-of-the-organization-at-pds.1471119/post-27490465 |author=''podcat'' (Paradox Studio Manager) |access-date=26 March 2026 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref>}} (HoI:IV), ''PDS Red'' (Vic3, CK3) and ''PDS Green'' (Stellaris).<ref name="ParadoxPlaza_studio-split">{{Cite web |date=30 April 2021 |title=Update of the organization at PDS |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/update-of-the-organization-at-pds.1471119/ |author=''Dnote'' (Paradox Product Manager) |access-date=11 March 2022 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Graham |date=1 May 2021 |title=Paradox Development Studio has "split into three distinct studios", and none are working on Imperator: Rome |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/paradox-development-studio-has-split-into-three-distinct-studios-and-none-are-working-on-imperator-rome |access-date=26 August 2022 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en}}</ref> While this left ''Imperator: Rome'' without a dedicated development team, PDS leads stated that they are figuring out how they will return to the series in time.<ref name="ParadoxPlaza_studio-split" />

Later on, the need arose to further divide ''PDS Red'' already handling the games ''Victoria 3'' and ''Crusader Kings'' into splitting off the handling of the latter into another individual dedicated studio for the game, to efficiently proceed in further development, which became ''PDS Black''.<ref name="ParadoxPlaza_PDS-Black">{{Cite web |date=28 February 2022 |title=Update of the organization at PDS |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/update-of-the-organization-at-pds.1471119/post-28117160 |author=''konbendith'' (Paradox Developer) |access-date=26 March 2026 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ParadoxPlaza_PDS-Black2">{{Cite web |date=28 February 2022 |title=Update of the organization at PDS |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/update-of-the-organization-at-pds.1471119/post-28117159 |author=''blackninja9939'' (PDX Former Senior Programmer CK3) |access-date=26 March 2026 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2024, ''PDS Red'' was replaced by ''PDS Purple''. Additionally, ''PDS Teal'', was created, working on a yet unannounced project.<ref name="2024_annual_report">{{cite web|access-date=2026-04-27 |date=2025-04-09 |title=Paradox Interactive AB publishes annual report for 2024 |url=https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/investors/financial-reports/paradox-interactive-ab-publishes-annual-report-for-2024}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" width="auto" ! Name ! Studio Lead ! Game ! Location |- | ''Paradox Tinto'' | Johan Andersson | ''Europa Universalis V'' | Sitges, Spain |- | ''PDS Black'' | Johanna Uddståhl Friberg | ''Crusader Kings III'' | rowspan="5" | Stockholm, Sweden |- | ''PDS Gold'' | Niels Uiterwijk | ''Hearts of Iron IV'' |- | ''PDS Green'' | Rikard Jansson (Åslund) | ''Stellaris'' |- | ''PDS Purple''1 | ? | ''Victoria 3'' |- | ''PDS Teal''<ref name="2024_annual_report"/> | ? | ? |- | ''<s>PDX Tectonic</s>''2 | Rod Humble | ''Life by You'' (Cancelled) | Berkeley, California |- | colspan="4" | 1 Formerly PDS Red 2 Closed after cancellation of the game |}

The US-based studio ''Paradox Tectonic'' was founded in 2019 for the development of the game ''Life by You''. After several delays and ultimately following the cancellation of the game the day prior, PDX Tectonic was subsequently closed down the next day on June 18, 2024.<ref name="Closure_Tectonic">{{Cite press release |title=Paradox Interactive to close down Paradox Tectonic |date=June 18, 2024 |publisher=Paradox Interactive |url=https://paradoxinteractive.com/media/press-releases/press-release/paradox-interactive-to-close-down-paradox-tectonic |language=en |access-date=2026-03-04}}</ref>

==Game engines== To date, Paradox have engineered two main proprietary game engines for its titles, Europa and Clausewitz. Both were also designed to be open to anyone who wishes to modify the original game files to create mods. As a result, games can be modded with as little as a text editor, which has led to the development of strong modding communities for each of Paradox's games.<ref>{{cite web |title=GDC Vault - Blurring the Line Between Community & Studio |url=http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023314/Blurring-the-Line-Between-Community |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220062935/https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1023314/Blurring-the-Line-Between-Community |archive-date=20 February 2019 |access-date=8 April 2016 |website=GDC Vault}}</ref>

Paradox developed its debut game ''Europa Universalis'' in 2000, and used large chunks of its code for its next games. Although this code overlap was subsequently referred to as the ''Europa Engine'', studio manager Johan Andersson clarified that the 'engine' had not been part of the initial designs of each of the company's first six games, and that it just resulted from copy-pasting large parts of code from one game to the next.<ref>{{Cite AV media |last1=Dickle |first1=Mark |last2=Woodsworth |first2=John |date=12 November 2019 |title=The History of Clausewitz {{!}} PDXCON2019 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqr4tvGxMMY |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015151606/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqr4tvGxMMY |archive-date=15 October 2020 |access-date=12 November 2019 |publisher=ParadoxExtra |via=YouTube}}</ref> In April 2008, Paradox allowed certain indie game developers to freely use the (by then) superseded engine as part of their Europa Engine Licensing Program.<ref>{{Cite web |author=Susana |date=25 April 2008 |title=Free engine for gamers released! |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/free-engine-for-gamers-released.353659/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015151552/https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/free-engine-for-gamers-released.353659/ |archive-date=15 October 2020 |access-date=22 July 2019 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2000 |title=Europa Engine |url=https://www.indiedb.com/engines/europa-engine |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180308180318/http://www.indiedb.com/engines/europa-engine |archive-date=8 March 2018 |access-date=22 July 2019 |website=Indie DB |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Andersson |first1=Johan |date=18 April 2008 |title=License the Europa Engine, and get your work published on Gamersgate |url=https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/license-the-europa-engine-and-get-your-work-published-on-gamersgate.352059/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015151553/https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/license-the-europa-engine-and-get-your-work-published-on-gamersgate.352059/ |archive-date=15 October 2020 |access-date=22 July 2019 |website=Paradox Interactive Forums |language=en-US}}</ref> The move led to the development of games such as ''For the Glory'', ''Arsenal of Democracy'', ''Darkest Hour'', and ''Iron Cross''.

In 2007, the studio debuted a new game engine, called Clausewitz Engine in ''Europa Universalis III''.<ref name="pcgamer">{{cite web |last=Savage |first=Phil |date=21 August 2015 |title=Stellaris: how Paradox plan to make an infinite grand strategy |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/stellaris-how-paradox-plan-to-make-an-infinite-grand-strategy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404133143/http://www.pcgamer.com/stellaris-how-paradox-plan-to-make-an-infinite-grand-strategy/ |archive-date=4 April 2016 |access-date=8 April 2016 |work=PC Gamer}}</ref> Named after the Prussian general Carl von Clausewitz, the new engine is written in the C++ programming language and provides a 3D view of part or the totality of the world map, depending on the played game. ''Sengoku'' (released 2011) was the first game utilizing the Clausewitz 2 engine. The studio's 17th game, ''Imperator: Rome'' (released 2019), was also built using Clausewitz, but with the addition of new 64-bit software known as "Jomini" (named after 19th century Swiss general Antoine-Henri Jomini)<ref name="jomini">{{Cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Fraser |date=14 October 2018 |title=The engine behind Paradox Development Studio's future games |url=https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/14/the-engine-behind-paradox-development-studios-future-games/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190725075054/https://venturebeat.com/2018/10/14/the-engine-behind-paradox-development-studios-future-games/ |archive-date=25 July 2019 |access-date=21 July 2019 |website=VentureBeat |language=en-US}}</ref> that allows for better 3D rendering and easier creation of mods. The newly improved engine now also features support for DirectX 11.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Horti |first1=Samuel |date=14 October 2018 |title=Future Paradox games will be easier to mod thanks to engine upgrade |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/future-paradox-games-will-be-easier-to-mod-thanks-to-engine-upgrade/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191207010042/https://www.pcgamer.com/future-paradox-games-will-be-easier-to-mod-thanks-to-engine-upgrade/ |archive-date=7 December 2019 |access-date=21 July 2019 |magazine=PC Gamer}}</ref>

==List of games developed== List of games developed by Paradox Development Studios.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 April 2013 |title=Development Studio |website=Paradox Interactive |url=http://www.paradoxplaza.com/corporate/development-studio |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120802051428/http://www.paradoxplaza.com/corporate/development-studio |archive-date=2 August 2012 |access-date=11 May 2013}}</ref> Note that in addition to this list there are two other games developed in the early 2000s when the studio was part of Paradox Entertainment, ''Crown of the North'' and ''Two Thrones'', both part of the ''Svea Rike'' series.

===Europa Engine=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" width="auto" ! scope="col" | Name ! scope="col" | Released ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Expansions ! scope="col" | Date |- |''Europa Universalis'' |2000 |colspan=2{{n/a}} |- |''Europa Universalis II'' |2001 |colspan=2{{n/a}} |- |''Hearts of Iron'' |2002 |colspan=2{{n/a}} |- |''Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun'' |2003 |''Revolutions'' |2006 |- |''Crusader Kings'' |2004 |''Deus Vult'' |2007 |- | rowspan="2" |''Hearts of Iron II'' | rowspan="2" |2005 |''Doomsday'' |2006 |- |''Armageddon'' |2007 |}

===Clausewitz Engine=== {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" width="auto" ! scope="col" | Name ! scope="col" | Released ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Expansions ! scope="col" | Date |- | rowspan="4" |''Europa Universalis III'' | rowspan="4" |2007 |''Napoleon's Ambition'' |2007 |- |''In Nomine'' |2008 |- |''Heir to the Throne'' |2009 |- |''Divine Wind'' |2010 |- |''Europa Universalis: Rome'' |2008 |''Vae Victis'' |2008 |- | rowspan="3" |''Hearts of Iron III'' | rowspan="3" |2009 |''Semper Fi'' |2010 |- |''For the Motherland'' |2011 |- |''Their Finest Hour'' |2012 |- | rowspan="2" |''Victoria II'' | rowspan="2" |2010 |''A House Divided'' |2012 |- |''Heart of Darkness'' |2013 |- |''Sengoku'' |2011 |colspan=2{{n/a}} |- | rowspan="15" |''Crusader Kings II'' | rowspan="15" |2012 |''Sword of Islam'' | rowspan="3" |2012 |- |''Legacy of Rome'' |- |''Sunset Invasion'' |- |''The Republic'' | rowspan="3" |2013 |- |''The Old Gods'' |- |''Sons of Abraham'' |- |''Rajas of India'' | rowspan="3" |2014 |- |''Charlemagne'' |- |''Way of Life'' |- |''Horse Lords'' |2015 |- |''Conclave'' | rowspan="2" |2016 |- |''The Reaper's Due'' |- |''Monks and Mystics'' | rowspan="2" |2017 |- |''Jade Dragon'' |- |''Holy Fury'' |2018 |- |''March of the Eagles'' |2013 |colspan=2{{n/a}} |- | rowspan="22" |''Europa Universalis IV'' | rowspan="22" |2013 |''Conquest of Paradise'' | rowspan="4" |2014 |- |''Wealth of Nations'' |- |''Res Publica'' |- |''Art of War'' |- |''El Dorado'' | rowspan="3" |2015 |- |''Common Sense'' |- |''The Cossacks'' |- |''Mare Nostrum'' | rowspan="2" |2016 |- |''Rights of Man'' |- |''Mandate of Heaven'' | rowspan="3" |2017 |- |''Third Rome'' |- |''Cradle of Civilization'' |- |''Rule Britannia'' | rowspan="3" |2018 |- |''Dharma'' |- |''Golden Century'' |- |''Emperor'' | rowspan="1" |2020 |- |''Leviathan'' | rowspan="2" |2021 |- |''Origins'' |- |''Lions of the North'' | rowspan="1" |2022 |- |''Domination'' | rowspan="2" |2023 |- |''King of Kings'' |- |''Winds of Change'' | rowspan="1" |2024 |- | rowspan="18" |''Stellaris'' | rowspan="18" |2016 |''Leviathans'' |2016 |- |''Utopia'' | rowspan="2" |2017 |- |''Synthetic Dawn'' |- |''Apocalypse'' | rowspan="3" |2018 |- |''Distant Stars'' |- |''MegaCorp'' |- |''Ancient Relics'' |2019 |- |''Federations'' |2020 |- |''Nemesis'' |2021 |- |''Overlord'' |2022 |- |''First Contact'' | rowspan="3" | 2023 |- |''Galactic Paragons'' |- |''Astral Planes'' |- |''The Machine Age'' | rowspan="3" |2024 |- | ''Cosmic Storms'' |- | ''Grand Archive'' |- |''BioGenesis'' | rowspan="2" |2025 |- | ''Shadows of the Shroud'' |- | rowspan="15" |''Hearts of Iron IV'' | rowspan="15" |2016 |''Together for Victory'' |2016 |- |''Death or Dishonor'' |2017 |- |''Waking the Tiger'' |2018 |- |''Man the Guns'' |2019 |- |''La Résistance'' | rowspan="2" |2020 |- |''Battle for the Bosporus'' |- |''No Step Back'' |2021 |- |''By Blood Alone'' |2022 |- |''Arms Against Tyranny'' |2023 |- |''Trial of Allegiance'' | rowspan="2" |2024 |- |''Götterdämmerung'' |- |''Graveyard of Empires'' | rowspan="2" |2025 |- |''No Compromise, No Surrender'' |- |''Thunder at our Gates'' | rowspan="2" |2026 |- |''Peace For Our Time'' |}

===Clausewitz Engine with Jomini Toolset === {| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" width="auto" ! scope="col" | Name ! scope="col" | Released ! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Expansions ! scope="col" | Date |- | rowspan="4" |''Imperator: Rome'' | rowspan="4" |2019 |''The Punic Wars'' |2019 |- |''Magna Graecia'' | rowspan="2" |2020 |- |''Epirus'' |- |''Heirs of Alexander'' |2021 |- | rowspan="11" |''Crusader Kings III'' | rowspan="11" |2020 |''Northern Lords'' |2021 |- |''Royal Court'' | rowspan="2" |2022 |- |''Fate of Iberia'' |- |''Tours and Tournaments'' | rowspan="2" |2023 |- |''Legacy of Persia'' |- |''Legends of the Dead'' | rowspan="2" |2024 |- |''Roads to Power'' |- |''Khans of the Steppe'' | rowspan="2" |2025 |- |''All Under Heaven'' |- |''By God Alone'' | rowspan="2" |2026 |- |''Silk & Silver'' |- | rowspan="10" |''Victoria 3'' | rowspan="10" |2022 |''Voice of the People'' | rowspan="2" |2023 |- |''Colossus of the South'' |- |''Sphere of Influence'' | rowspan="2" |2024 |- |''Pivot of Empire'' |- |''Charters of Commerce'' | rowspan="3" |2025 |- |''National Awakening'' |- |''Iberian Twilight'' |- |''The Great Wave'' | rowspan="2" |2026 |- |''State and Revolution'' |- |''Century of Strife'' | rowspan="1" |2027 |- | rowspan="3" |''Europa Universalis V'' | rowspan="3" |2025 |''Fate of the Phoenix'' | rowspan="3" |2026 |- |''Across the Pillars'' |- |''The Auld Alliance'' |- |}

== Notes== {{Notelist}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * [https://www.paradoxplaza.com Official website]

Category:Video game companies of Sweden Category:Video game development companies Category:Video game companies established in 1995 Category:Companies based in Stockholm Category:Swedish companies established in 1995 Category:Paradox Interactive