Paradox Interactive, publisher of games like Cities: Skylines and A Plague Tale: Requiem, has referred to their recent release of tactical RPG The Lamplighters League as a “big disappointment”. Despite only being released a week ago, it appears that the game is unlikely to make back its development costs, resulting in a $22.7m loss.
Developed by Paradox-owned Harebrained Schemes, better known for the Tactical Shadowrun games which were recently released on consoles in trilogy format, took their experience on those games into The Lamplighters League. Taking its cues from 1930s pulp fiction, the game blends real-time stealth mechanics with a turn-based tactical RPG in which players move around a map and attack. The player controls several members of the titular group of rogues as they attempt to stop an evil cabal, known as the Banished Court.
In a note posted to Paradox’s website, the publisher stated it would be eating the game’s capitalized development cost, acknowledging they had no expectation to make that money back. This will result, they go to say, in a $22.7 million pre-tax reduction in its fourth quarter profits.
Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester wrote in a statement that:
The Lamplighters League is a fun game with many strengths. Even though we see cautiously positive player numbers in subscription services, the commercial reception has been too weak, which is frankly a big disappointment.
Game projects are by their nature always risky, but at the end of the day, we haven’t performed at the level we should. It is painful but makes us more eager to roll up our sleeves and do better.
Despite this, Paradox has plenty of games on the horizon that players should be excited for. Cities: Skylines II has received large amounts of positive press, It looks like it will take everything popular about the first title and expanding it greatly. In addition, Life By You appears to be a solid take on The Sims games, putting emphasis on player freedom.
In September, after nearly a year of silence, Paradox published Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodline 2 finally showed a new trailer along with announcing the new development studio for the game, The Chinese Room. The game is a sequel to the equally troubled yet cult classic PC game is one to keep an eye on.
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