Paradox is closing its Tectonic studio following Life by You’s cancellation

Paradox Interactive has announced plans to close its Tectonic studio following the cancellation of Life by You.

Having recently delayed the life simulation game indefinitely, the publisher announced on Monday that it no longer planned to release the title.

It has since confirmed plans to close the in-house studio behind the game, Berkeley, California-based Paradox Tectonic, which employs 24 people.

“This is difficult and drastic news for our colleagues at Tectonic, who’ve worked hard on Life by You’s Early Access release,” said Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester.

“Sadly, with cancellation of their sole project we have to take the tough decision to close down the studio. We are deeply grateful for their hard work in trying to take Paradox into a new genre.”

Life By You was to be the debut game from Tectonic, a studio established in 2019 and headed by Rod Humble, the former boss of EA’s The Sims label and the ex-CEO of Second Life creator Linden Lab.

The game was originally scheduled to launch in Early Access in September 2023, before it was delayed to March 2024 and then pushed back again to June.

In late April, Paradox issued a press release stating that the game was “ready for early access”, but three weeks later it delayed the game indefinitely.

Announcing the game’s cancellation on Monday, Paradox’s deputy CEO, Mattias Lilja, said: “This was an incredibly difficult call to make and is a clear failure on Paradox’s part to meet both our own and the community’s expectations.”

“A few weeks back, we decided to hold off on an Early Access release in order to re-evaluate Life by You, as we still felt that the game was lacking in some key areas,” he added. “Though a time extension was an option, once we took that pause to get a wider view of the game, it became clear to us that the road leading to a release that we felt confident about was far too long and uncertain.

“This is not to say the game has not shown any promising qualities; Life by You had a number of strengths and the hard work of a dedicated team that went into realizing them.

“However, when we come to a point where we believe that more time will not get us close enough to a version we would be satisfied with, then we believe it is better to stop.

“This is obviously tough and disappointing for everyone who poured their time and enthusiasm into this project, especially when our decision comes so late in the process.”