Swedish publisher Paradox is going through a tough time. Since the beginning of the year, the company has canceled Life for you, closed his studio Tectoniche fought for rehabilitate City Skylines II after a failed launch, and he admitted it must address ongoing quality issues.
Now, the company has delayed indefinitely Prison Architect 2 a month before its scheduled launch on September 3. Paradox said it needed more time to “improve both the game's performance and content,” but did not say exactly how long that would take.
“Our ongoing internal reviews and beta testing groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus on more, primarily performance and content, which we need to address before launch to ensure that you, the players, have a good experience in the game. We need to ramp up the quality a bit more to meet the standards we would like to achieve with this sequel,” it is read in a post on the Paradox forum.
Paradox reportedly remains “confident” that the sequel will deliver when it finally releases, but said it needs to ensure the title “lives up to the legacy of the franchise” and is released in a state that satisfies both players and the internal teams at Paradox and developer Kokku.
Last May, Kokku took the reins From Prison Architect 2 from the “original” developer Double Eleven. The former would have been working on the sequel since fall 2023, following the mutual end of the relationship between Double Eleven and Paradox (and Technical Problems).
“At this stage, we cannot commit to a new release date, as we need to reevaluate the scope of work needed before the game is ready for release. Over the next few months, we will be focusing on improving the game and creating a more solid release timeline. This also means that we will be limiting our communication with all of you until we have a timeline we are comfortable with,” the post continues.
Paradox said pre-orders on all platforms will be refunded as a result of the move. Pre-order items will now be added to the base game. The company described the move as “necessary” and said it was in line with a broader commitment to “review and improve the quality” of content it releases.
“We are confident that delaying Prison Architect 2 This is the best path forward for the game, as it will allow us more time to deliver a high-quality experience that pays homage to the legacy of Prison Architect,” he added.
Update: This story has been updated with more information about developer Kokku and the development of Prison Architect 2.