Paradox Interactive will be rolling back recent price changes in response to community outcry according to a statement from CEO Fredrik Wester on the company's official forums.
Price increases were initially noticed in mid-May 2017 and documented in this forum thread. A post in that thread from Forum and Support Manager TinyWiking explained that the changes were made to reflect the competition's prices in certain regions along with the increased purchasing power in those particular markets. Since then, complaints have been pouring into the company on multiple fronts, leading the CEO to ultimately announce that they would be reversing course today.
The CEO addresses multiple points in his statement to the community. Firstly, he concedes that Paradox Interactive ought to have been more transparent with changing the prices in their games. As a result, he announced that they will be rolling back the changes made after the Steam Summer Sale is over. He has also promised to announce any upcoming changes in advance so that customers are not blindsided by any price increases.
Unfortunately, Steam's policy does not allow them to change prices during the middle of the Steam Summer Sale. Price rollbacks will take place after the conclusion of the sale, but unsatisfied customers can get refunds or a reimbursement with a game that has a value exceeding the difference. If for some reason these refunds won't be possible, the fallback plan is to calculate the additional revenue generated by the price increase, double it, and donate it to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Mr. Wester stated that he was reluctant to give into "mob mentality", and having worked at a company that grew from 7 to 225 people he has found himself saying no more than yes. However, in reading the complaints from customers he noticed that many of the people complaining had been in the community for a decade or longer and clearly were dedicated fans and consumers of Paradox's games. This, in combination with the reasoning elsewhere in the post, contributed to the decision.
Finally, the CEO closed the statement by dismissing some of the complaints that bordered on conspiracy theories. He cited Tencent acquiring 5% of the company and their IPO last year as examples put forth by people who were theorizing that the company was out to get their numbers up. He countered with the fact that he is still the CEO and still owns 33% of the company; neither case would be enough to influence the decision.
In conclusion, Mr. Wester states that he is always willing to listen to criticism and feedback from consumers; they can elect to e-mail him at fredrik.wester@paradoxplaza.com if they feel so inclined. The reversion in price increases to Paradox Interactive titles will take place sometime after the conclusion of the 2017 Steam Summer Sale.
Do you think Paradox Interactive should have announced the price changes to their games further in advance? What do you think of the company's response to fan complaints about the changes? How much notice do you think a company should give about upcoming price changes for their product? Let us know in the comments below!
