Life by You was too big to be saved, but Paradox has not given up on making a Sims-like

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Originally published on October 8, 2024.

The contest between Paradox Interactive and Maxis’ life simulation game titan, The Sims, seemed like a perfect match: Life by You could have served as the competition Electronic Arts’ dominator needed. Led by former The Sims 2 head Rod Humble, the innovative game aimed to deliver advanced customization features and an open-world atmosphere to the genre, offering players an unparalleled experience compared to the category’s front-runner. Unfortunately, Life by You was discontinued following numerous delays and will not be released.

At a recent press gathering, Deputy CEO Mattias Lilja acknowledged that Paradox has been overly confident during recent times, leading to mistakes such as the cancellation of Life by You.

As a gamer diving into this project, I initially believed we had a winning strategy, pouring resources into it early on. Unfortunately, that led us to assemble a larger team than necessary, which made adjustments costly and time-consuming. Now, it seems like each move we make from hereon will be more expensive and may not even address the issues at hand – much like playing a game where every decision leads to a steep price tag with questionable returns.

It seems that the project, reminiscent of The Sims, developed by Paradox Tectonic for more than four years, veered off course and became too complex to make necessary adjustments.

Leadership at Paradox has expressed a desire for developers to strengthen their collaboration with fans once more. They want to hear player feedback, identify shared themes, and mechanics that players find appealing. Unfortunately, this approach wasn’t evident in the game ‘Life by You’, which appeared to be primarily driven by the creative leadership team’s vision, resulting in a lack of meaningful connection with players.

Despite the expensive disappointment of cancelling “Life by You,” which has prompted Paradox to reassess its approach to future ventures into uncharted territories, Lilja clarified that he would continue to advocate for “Life by You” as a sound strategic concept. However, he acknowledged that they didn’t execute it effectively and it ultimately failed.

He suggested that they should certainly consider repeating the attempt if another chance arises in the future. In other words, it appears that Paradox is still determined to create a rival for The Sims, but it will likely require some good fortune and plenty of time.

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2025-05-07 14:09