Paradox Interactive

Paradox Interactive is a video game publisher founded in 1999 and based in Sweden. The company comprises nine first-party development studios and publishes games from other developers.

The company originally began as Target Games, which produced board games and tabletop RPGs during the 1980s and 1990s. The company then expanded into video games before declaring bankruptcy in 1999. The video game division then split off to form Paradox Entertainment, which created adaptations of Target’s games.

Paradox Interactive is best known for its strategy video games and first released titles, including Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, and Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun.

Paradox has published multiple franchises covering different periods of history, including the Roman Empire, the Middle Ages, the Early Modern Period, the Victorian era, World War II, and the science fiction space-age era. The grand strategy games series are Imperator: Rome, Crusader Kings III, Europa Universalis V, Victoria 3, Hearts of Iron IV, and Stellaris.

In 2004, Paradox Entertainment CEO Theodore Bergquist and Fredrik Wester bought the video games division, including the property rights to the studio’s previous games, creating Paradox Interactive.