Award-winning Game Designer Jon Shafer Joins Paradox Development Studio
Lead Designer of Civilization V Working on New Title with Grand Strategy Development Team
STOCKHOLM - May 12, 2017 - Paradox Interactive, a global publisher and developer of genre-defining games, today announced that Jon Shafer, the award-winning designer of such strategy titles as Sid Meier’s Civilization V, has joined Paradox Development Studio to work on new projects. A twelve-year veteran of game development, Shafer has won a BAFTA award for his work on Civilization V, and is now working on a new game with Paradox with details to be announced in the future. Shafer joins the creators of such iconic grand strategy franchises as Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, and Crusader Kings and will help to drive Paradox’s continuing growth and domination of the strategy genre worldwide.
“Bringing Jon Shafer onto our team is exciting for all of us; there’s probably nobody here who hasn’t personally played and enjoyed his work,” said Johan Andersson, EVP of Creative Direction at Paradox Development Studio. “Adding a new designer to our studio is always a significant challenge. Our fans have very high expectations for us based on the games they play – deep, complex titles with long-lasting, replayable experiences. I’ve known Jon for 15 years now, and I’m excited to have him join us. Jon has the expertise to create more of those experiences, and he shares our core design philosophies; we can’t wait to share his games with our fans.”
“I’ve been a fan of Paradox’s games for years now, and moving onto the team behind some of my favorite titles is an exhilarating moment for me,” said Jon Shafer, Game Director at Paradox Development Studio. “I’ve been drawn to strategy games for as long as I can remember, and it’s harder to find a better selection of rich strategy experiences than at Paradox. I look forward to working on the next big title in their catalog – stay tuned!”
Shafer is best known as the lead designer for Civilization V, though his work also includes designing the Beyond the Sword and Warlords expansions for Sid Meier’s Civilization IV, and he is also currently developing At the Gates, a Kickstarter-funded strategy title of his own creation. He will continue development of At the Gates independent and separate from his work for Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive.
For more information on Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive, please visit https://www.paradoxinteractive.com/.
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Fredrik Wester, CEO Paradox Interactive
Andras Vajlok, CFO Paradox Interactive
Email: ir@paradoxplaza.com
Phone: +4670-355 54 89
This information is information that Paradox Interactive AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and the Securities Markets Act. The information was submitted for publication on May 12, 2017.
About Paradox Interactive
The Paradox Interactive group includes publishing and internal development of games and licensing of White Wolf’s brands. The publishing operation publishes both internally developed titles and titles developed by independent studios as well as music and books. The game portfolio includes more than 90 titles and Paradox Interactive owns the most important brands, including Stellaris, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings, Cities: Skylines, Tyranny and Magicka. From the start over ten years ago, the company has published its games all over the world, initially through physical distribution using partners, but beginning in 2006 has primarily distributed digitally using its own publishing arm. The development platform is primarily PC, but the company has released games on console and mobile platforms as well. The largest markets today include the US, UK, Germany, France, Russia and Scandinavia. Today, close to 1.5 million gamers play a Paradox game each month and the number of Paradox registered users exceeds six million.
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