Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud Steps Down

Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud has stepped down from her position and will be replaced by Fredrik Wester, the man who held the title before her.


Published: September 1, 2021 2:21 PM /

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Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Lungerud Steps Down cover

Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud has stepped down from her role and will work with the company "for a period" to ensure a smooth transition for this game developer and publisher.

Odds are you've played a Paradox Interactive game at some point — the company has published a number of popular games including Cities: SkylinesPillars of Eternity, and most recently Empire of Sin. Now, things are shaking up at the Swedish game publisher: its CEO has stepped down from her role at the company.

Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Lungerud Steps Down slice

Why Did Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud Step Down?

One might wonder why Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud has decided to step down. Her reasons seem pretty clear-cut: she didn't agree with Paradox's overall business strategy.

"Ebba has done a fantastic job as CEO of Paradox Interactive," Paradox Interactive Chairman of the Board Håkan Sjunnesson said in a statement. "During her leadership the organisation, player base and our game projects have been strengthened and grown which give the company a strong base for future growth. We regret that she has decided to resign but wish her all the best in future endeavours."

Paradox has faced criticism in recent years for issues such as an attempt to increase the prices of its games — a decision it eventually reversed. While it had record profits in February 2019, the company has seen severe declines in profit compared to the previous year this year.

Unfortunately, Ljungerud's reasons were not explained beyond "differing views on the company's strategy going forward" in today's announcement. However, an investor report from earlier this year indicated that Ljungerud was changing to a position of focusing more on focusing on core strategy titles, rather than the more expansion-oriented efforts we've seen with titles like Empire of Sin, and Vampire: The Masquerade: Bloodlines 2 of late. This involved bringing in more people to work on DLC, and continuing to work on titles that had stopped for a bit like Surviving Mars, which has DLC releasing next week, for the first time in two years. Whether this disagreement in strategy was with the company's choice to make this lean and her objecting, or the reverse, is unknown at this time.

Ljungerud will be replaced by Fredrik Wester. Wester held the role before Ljunerud took it over in early 2018.

What do you think of Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud stepping down? How do you think this will affect your favorite Paradox games? Let us know in the comments below!

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