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Paradox - future of Linux support
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Supay Jun 16, 2019
I initially posted this in the E3 article comments but that's a few days old so realised it might not get seen much there so reposting for the forum.



I had a brief chat on Twitter with Shams, the Paradox business chap and asked about their complete lack of Linux support on recent non-PDS developed titles. He's made it clear that Linux no longer has any business support in Paradox, which is really sad as they've been one of our biggest supporters as a publisher and developer. I also asked Ebba, their CEO, and she confirmed no Linux support for the new titles i.e. Vampire, Planetfall, Empire of Sin. I assume that as long as they're on the current Clausewitz engine we will see the current and future in-house PDS developer games still come to Linux, but that could still be dropped for future games as well, and if they move to a new engine version we should expect to lose any support for their new in-house titles.

Shams was the one who pushed for Linux internally at PDX and wanted it to succeed, so I doubt it was an easy decision, but he is a businessman. He did say they they always examine possibilities so they may revisit this in the future, but it seems we have lost one of our longest and strongest larger supporters.

Link here for confirmation:

Twitter Chat With Shams
Salvatos Jun 16, 2019
Sad news, but thanks for investigating and sharing the info!
Liam Dawe Jun 16, 2019
It is a shame but i only really enjoyed Stellaris from them directly anyway. However, I am sad that we won't see official support for Bloodlines in that case.

Shams has been saying for quite some time that he didn't see a point in Linux support. The person who originally help port their game engine doesnt even work at Paradox now either.
Supay Jun 16, 2019
I'm pretty sure I saw some jobs listed for then recently that included both developers and IT tech support with Linux as a requirement. So I'm hoping it's not a complete end.
einherjar Jun 16, 2019
Very sad, but when the market share won't rise, that is not really surprising :'(:'(:'(:'(
Predcnh Jun 16, 2019
Very very sad.

This means that they are not looking at stadia at all.
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
Shams was the one who pushed for Linux internally at PDX and wanted it to succeed, so I doubt it was an easy decision, but he is a businessman. He did say they they always examine possibilities so they may revisit this in the future, but it seems we have lost one of our longest and strongest larger supporters.

This sounds very bad. Even Stadia doesn't help them avoid dropping support? Can you please ask them that, if you have direct contacts.
SadL Jun 17, 2019
..I am a huge fan of many Paradox games (CK2, Stellaris, HOI4, EU4 - and some older ones through proton - especially the first 3..I have almost every dlc) ..these are extremely bad news for me..I hope they will reconsider..I obviously understand the business part of a decision like this but it hurts so much..
Arehandoro Jun 17, 2019
Can't keep up with so many recent bad news.
eldaking Jun 17, 2019
This is probably the worst gaming news I have received in years. :(

I was not expecting it, considering that their client already supports Linux (and even had an early beta for it). Or this dev diary where they mention how the game loads faster in Linux and Mac. I assumed it was ultimately up to the developers, but if it is the publisher's policy we are probably screwed.

Hopefully for PDS games it is not too much of a burden to keep doing it, or if they decide to reuse stuff from Prison Architect for the franchise. But this makes it unlikely that Paradox Tectonic, Triumph and Harebrained Schemes will choose it for new projects (Triumph already had said they regretted supporting Linux for AoW3, and Planetfall doesn't, so not a big surprise), or that games from third-party studios will do it unless they are really really committed.

I was thinking that Stadia doesn't make a lot of sense for Paradox (and that Vulkan doesn't really matter), but for games like Bloodlines or even Battletech it does make sense. So it is worse than I thought...

It's all up to Valve now. Will games work with Proton? Will they do something so amazing that developers will want to support Linux again?
Liam Dawe Jun 17, 2019
Can't keep up with so many recent bad news.
So many? There hasn't been a lot of bad news lately?
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
I'm quite surprised, that sales for Paradox were dropping. How is that possible if Linux market is growing? This is also in contrast with Stardock developers, who claim that Linux situation is changing for the better.
Supay Jun 17, 2019
That surprised me too. Maybe more games for Linux means less sales per game ?

I've said exactly that to Shams. Paradox was an early and high profile supporter, so naturally they would get more purchases as people had less choice. As others have gotten involved and the options are larger, even with a rise in Linux gamer numbers, they will be spread out in their purchasing habits, so this likely has led to it looking like flat growth or even a fall for an individual developer/publisher.
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
I've said exactly that to Shams. Paradox was an early and high profile supporter, so naturally they would get more purchases as people had less choice. As others have gotten involved and the options are larger, even with a rise in Linux gamer numbers, they will be spread out in their purchasing habits, so this likely has led to it looking like flat growth or even a fall for an individual developer/publisher.

Did you ask them about their view on Stadia? If releasing for Stadia can incentivize them to spend money on developing for Linux, it should make it a lot easier to release for desktop Linux too.
Liam Dawe Jun 17, 2019
That surprised me too. Maybe more games for Linux means less sales per game ?

I've said exactly that to Shams. Paradox was an early and high profile supporter, so naturally they would get more purchases as people had less choice. As others have gotten involved and the options are larger, even with a rise in Linux gamer numbers, they will be spread out in their purchasing habits, so this likely has led to it looking like flat growth or even a fall for an individual developer/publisher.
Steam Play makes that worse though for sure, since a lot of people now buy games they otherwise wouldn't (me included in that). We're a small market, that Steam Play has basically spread out even further.
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
Steam Play makes that worse though for sure, since a lot of people now buy games they otherwise wouldn't (me included in that). We're a small market, that Steam Play has basically spread out even further.

But I'm surprised it has such a bad impact on native Linux releases, which usually get more attention from Linux users than Wine use case.

I suppose market dip can be a necessary step to make the market grow later. I.e. eventually better compatibility will bring enough new users to compensate for breadth of games availability.
Supay Jun 17, 2019
Did you ask them about their view on Stadia? If releasing for Stadia can incentivize them to spend money on developing for Linux, it should make it a lot easier to release for desktop Linux too.

Thanks, I did forget to ask so have added that to a list of queries I've already asked. I would have said that their strategy titles wouldn't fit Stadia, but they've done some great work pushing them to console already so it actually could be an option for them. And items such as Vampire I would think to be very popular and fit with Stadia.
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
And items such as Vampire I would think to be very popular and fit with Stadia.

Yeah, VtM: Bloodlines 2 is a good fit, and if releasing for Stadia can help them release it for desktop Linux (by providing extra needed profits to cover Linux support expenses), it would be a good thing.
Shmerl Jun 17, 2019
Thanks, I did forget to ask so have added that to a list of queries I've already asked.

Did you post those extra questions somewhere on Twitter? Just would like to monitor if there was any answer :)

I.e. I hope Shams Jorjani ‏won't miss your extra questions.
Liam Dawe Jun 17, 2019
No matter what, I think being positive about what they have done so far, is worth letting them know.

Remember: User complaints tend to be louder, users thanking is something developers still don't see enough of. It might seem silly but it goes a long way and I certainly adore Stellaris as a huge sci-fi nerd.
Supay Jun 17, 2019
I'm always thanking them, works better than complaining. And they are very transparent and friendly, and supported us well for years when many others didn't, so no need to give them grief. I'll still be very vocal to let them know we're here and want them to keep developing for us though. Engagement works best.

@Shmerl - it's in the chain with the link I posted in the original post. I'll ask again if he misses it.
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