Harebrained Schemes were acquired by Paradox Interactive back in 2018 and now they're set to part ways, after the disappointing launch of The Lamplighters League.
Harebrained Schemes developed titles like BATTLETECH, Shadowrun Returns, Shadowrun: Dragonfall and more but it seems like the partnership with Paradox has not gone well overall. Paradox announced earlier this month on October 10th how bad the launch of The Lamplighters League went noting in a press release:
Paradox Interactive has today decided to write down capitalized development costs for the game The Lamplighters League, in addition to the regular degressive amortization done during the game’s first three months. Overall, this will result in that all of the game’s capitalized development costs of MSEK 320 will be recognized as costs in the fourth quarter of 2023. The game’s impact on profit before tax for the fourth quarter is estimated to MSEK -248. The write-down stems from a revised sales forecast, which was established after the game’s release.
“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,” says Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive.
Pictured - The Lamplighters League
On Steam, The Lamplighters League has less than 200 user reviews, which is really bad.
With today's announcement, they're going to entirely part ways on January 1st, 2024. Paradox will keep ownership of The Lamplighters League and other games developed by the studio while Harebrained Schemes look towards "new publishing, partnership, and investment opportunities".
From the press release sent out today:
“Paradox has refocused its strategy towards its core niches within strategy and management games with endless qualities,” said Charlotta Nilsson, COO of Paradox. “We and HBS’ leadership have been discussing what would happen after the release of The Lamplighters League, but a new project or sequel in the same genre was not in line with our portfolio plans. Hence, we believe that a separation would be the best way forward. We’re very happy that this talented, gifted studio has the chance to continue and can’t wait to see what they will make next.”
“Harebrained Schemes will support The Lamplighters League through the end of the year while we seek funding and partnerships for an independent future in 2024," said Brian Poel, Studio Operations Manager of HBS. “Our studio mission remains the same: to make games that challenge your mind and touch your heart.”
There's other news though, which is that Harebrained Schemes had a significant amount of staff let go before the release of The Lamplighters League. This was shared by a former staff member in a forum post on ResetEra, confirmed by PC Gamer.
So tough times ahead for Harebrained Schemes.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Schattenspiegel Oct 18, 2023
Quoting: DrakkerAh cr*p, does it mean they can't make any more Shadowrun games because Paradox still own the license?
That's unclear. Paradox own the three Shadowrun games ("Paradox will maintain ownership of The Lamplighters League, released this month, and other titles developed by HBS.") but the Shadowrun electronic IP is owned by Microsoft (other Shadowrun usage is possibly owned by Topps cards after they bought WizKids) and was licensed back to Jordan Weisman. Whether Paradox or Jordan Weisman now have that licence to make future games, and whether either could get a different licence to make future games, are unknown outside of those parties.
Quoting: JarmerSorry, but nope: day 1 dlc included a $8 in-game character. Which of course means it was developed as part of the game pre-release and then they chopped it out and tried charging extra for it on day 1. That's predatory, and a blatant scam.This is interesting, as it made me realise that I don't think of Paradox as owning Lamplighter. While I've been defending the Paradox DLC model, I despise day 1 DLC and yep, I agree it's both undesirable and pretty predatory, not a great look at all. It's not a scam - dunno what you makes you think that? Where's the scam in this?
The only defence for Paradox here, I think, is that this isn't normal for them as far as I know. When I'm defending their DLC model, it's because it extends a favoured franchise long after the initial launch, and does so in ways that you can choose which expansion is the best fit for you.
I think of it like buying the D&D ruleset (the base game), then buying campaign modules afterwards (the DLC). I love this model, as it gives the customer freedom to tailor what they get out of their initial purchase. I think most of the criticism about it derives from the mindset that you HAVE TO BUY ALL THE DLC. MUST... BUY... IT ALL! Obviously, that's not realistic or feasible (unless you're rich and/or have hundreds of hours to spend in the same game). I suppose Paradox would love it if all their customers did, but given that they typically release around 3 expansions a year, that's extremely unlikely.
This wasn't additional content developed later on and released because of fan popularity or extending the game etc...
If I pay full price for a brand new car, I expect to show up and be able to drive off. I don't expect that it'll only have 3 wheels and I will be extorted for a 4th wheel for extra money. (maybe the car dealership thing is a bad example here because theyre infamous for all kinds of scummy behavior lol - but you get my point!)
Quoting: JarmerI guess I call it scam because you're paying full price for a game that is not complete.
This wasn't additional content developed later on and released because of fan popularity or extending the game etc...
If I pay full price for a brand new car, I expect to show up and be able to drive off. I don't expect that it'll only have 3 wheels and I will be extorted for a 4th wheel for extra money. (maybe the car dealership thing is a bad example here because theyre infamous for all kinds of scummy behavior lol - but you get my point!)
I get your point but don't agree with it. Your car analogy in this case is buying a car that doesn't have all the extras - you'll pay more for a heated steering wheel, alloys, etc. The word "scam" implies dishonesty, but there's nothing dishonest about paying for a better product. That's just capitalism.
Quoting: GuestI saw a couple of youtube videos about the game when it came out.
It looked interesting.
Went to buy it and found out it was Windows only.
Moved on and didn't look back.
So you won't play any non native games even if Proton works well? Sometimes the Windows versions running in Proton are better than native as the native ports tend to be abandoned and locked to old libraries.
Quoting: t3gSo you won't play any non native games even if Proton works well? Sometimes the Windows versions running in Proton are better than native as the native ports tend to be abandoned and locked to old libraries.
I know there's some examples for this, but doing my personal experiment, I tried the ten first games I bought on Steam for Linux (in 2012/2013 if I remember correctly), and every single of them was running without any problem, without any tinkering. So, no, I don't think native ports tend to stop working. And old games tend to be abandoned by the developers on any system.
Last edited by Eike on 20 October 2023 at 8:00 am UTC
Cloversheen Oct 20, 2023
Quoting: t3gSometimes the Windows versions running in Proton are better than native as the native ports tend to be abandoned and locked to old libraries.Divinity: Original Sin always comes to mind, and there are quite a few other ones listed on the Arch wiki for anyone interested: Archwiki: Game-specific troubleshooting
There are also a couple of games that while they do have a native version, it just runs better for other reasons... And that is without mentioning those that gateway cross platform play, I'm looking at you Civ6!
Quoting: pbWow, it's almost as if people are not willing to dump $50 on a random game they never heard about. Ever heard of Laffer Curve?I knew about the game at least. It was on my wish list for a good while. I think Steam suggested it to me...? I still want it and plan to get it, but I don't buy single-player games until I'm ready to play them. I'm excited to get it though. Poor marketing? I knew it was HBS at least, and that was a big draw. My thoughts went like this, "Oh, this looks neat. Made by HBS? I'm sold."
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