I've been listening to the Paradox Podcast, by two employees at Paradox Interactive, who discuss the business aspects behind the game industry. It's a really interesting listen and I recommend it.

I've asked them for a future discussion on Linux gaming and ended up having a chat with one of them about it in general. Paradox have been a strong supporter of Linux both for their own developed games and those they publish. But apparently they are seeing a steady decline in Linux user numbers. They get live data from players, so it's not an issue with the Steam sale info. Linux users are now below 1% and falling for them. They didn't say that they would stop Linux support, but they did say that it costs them to maintain it and that the community either needs to grow and result in better returns or it may not be viable.

I am a strict Linux purchaser and won't buy anything which lacks support, even if it runs in WINE. If Paradox dropped Linux it would be a major blow to me as I have all of their games which run on Linux and a considerable number of hours in each. It's worrying to hear that a company which has so strongly supported us is suffering such low take-up of their games, and yet they continue to develop for Linux even so. They have a bunch of new releases due including Battletech and Surviving Mars, both Linux supported, and they are announcing more titles in May at PDX-Con. I'm hoping that includes a Linux supporting Victoria III.

So, listen to the podcast anyway as it is good. And there may be a Linux discussion coming on it. And if you like Paradox games and have been thinking of getting any, then it might be worth buying them,or letting them know that you intend to, or simply that you appreciate their work, or even just whether there's anything stopping you buying their games, so that they can respond or address it. It would be a sad day if they stopped as they are growing fast and could represent an even more substantial market for us in the future.