Paradox buys rights to Prison Architect

Publisher Paradox Interactive buys the rights to Prison Architect. The Swedish company wants to use the rights to make more Architect games. Developer Introversion Software is waiving because it “got everything out of it.”

Paradox Interactive announces the acquisition on its own website, but does not state how much it paid for the rights to the successful indie game. Paradox already acted as publisher of the mobile versions of the game, but will now also be responsible for the editions for Windows, OS X, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. In addition, it gives the publisher the chance to create more Architect games.

Prison Architect has a long history. It was created by the small English company Introversion Software, who announced the game in 2011. A playable alpha version of the game was released in 2012, which served as a prelude to a crowdfunding campaign. That eventually yielded more than 9 million dollars, which gave Introversion time to tinker with the Windows version of the game until 2015. It then worked with developer Tag Games on the mobile version of the game and Double Eleven on the console versions.

Mark Morris, one of the founders of Introversion, says it’s now time to move on after working on the game for nearly a decade. “We got everything we could out of Prison Architect and we are curious what a company like Paradox will do with it.” Prison Architect is a simulation game along the lines of simulators like Theme Hospital and Dungeon Keeper. The player becomes responsible for a prison, which must be built from scratch. Players can shape the prison themselves and are also responsible for hiring and keeping the staff happy.