In 2018, newly appointed Paradox Interactive CEO Ebba Ljungerud said the company needed to grow without losing its culture or its close relationship with players. At PDXCON, the publisher’s public convention, she described fans as “incredibly passionate. And knowledgeable!” and spoke about careful change, project choices and the challenge of knowing when a game is ready to ship. Karaoke was part of the convention’s informal atmosphere, too.
Who was Paradox’s new CEO in 2018?
Ljungerud formally took over from Fredrik Wester on August 1, 2018, after serving on Paradox’s board. GamesBeat’s October 13, 2018 interview said she had worked in the gambling industry since 2007 and most recently held a chief operating officer role at Kindred Group. Paradox’s earlier appointment announcement described her Kindred position as chief commercial officer. Those are the titles used by the respective sources at the time.
This is a historical interview, not a profile of Paradox’s current leadership. Ljungerud left the CEO role effective September 1, 2021. Paradox’s official 2026 materials identify Fredrik Wester as CEO.
What did Ljungerud want to preserve as Paradox grew?
At PDXCON, Ljungerud encountered players who approached developers with detailed questions about the games. The convention gave her, as she put it, “the best introduction to work day I could ever have.” The reporter described around 1,000 attendees, including people in World War II and medieval costumes, along with booths, panels and musical performances. That approximate count describes the event as reported in 2018, not a recurring attendance figure.
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Her central concern was how to expand without losing the qualities that made Paradox distinctive. “I want to make sure we manage to grow but also keep the culture of the company,” she said. That meant preserving a relatively informal workplace and the exchange between developers and committed players, which the story associated with streams, videos, Twitter, forums and in-person events.
What changes did she discuss?
Ljungerud said she did not want to arrive and impose immediate changes. She expected the company to change as it grew, but wanted that change to be structured and to come from within the organization. One practical goal she raised was more consistent use of English across Paradox’s Stockholm-based departments, so people who did not speak Swedish would not be left out of conversations.
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These were intentions she described in 2018. The interview records what she wanted to do, not whether Paradox later achieved those goals.
How did she think about projects and release quality?
The interview portrays Paradox as a publisher that had grown from a small niche operation into one able to host an international convention. Ljungerud called the changes associated with growth and the company’s IPO era exciting, while emphasizing that preserving its culture mattered. She also discussed becoming more selective about projects and being more willing to stop work when a game was unlikely to succeed.
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The reporter pointed to the cancelled East vs. West, a Cold War spin-off of Hearts of Iron, as an example of investment in a game that never reached release. Ljungerud also raised a familiar development judgment: deciding when a game is ready. The article noted that development cycles, quality assurance and teams had expanded since Crusader Kings II, while concerns about release quality remained. This describes the discussion and company context in 2018; it does not establish how Paradox manages releases today.
Why were karaoke and games part of the conversation?
Karaoke was included in the PDXCON program and featured in the company’s informal convention culture. Ljungerud said she enjoyed it. The reporter also noted that former CEO Wester was known for performing System of a Down’s “Chop Suey!”—an anecdote about the convention, not evidence that karaoke was a routine activity for every employee.
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Ljungerud connected her own gaming experience to the publisher’s city-building series: she had played SimCity as a child and later tried Cities: Skylines, initially struggling to keep its residents alive. She had also watched tutorials for Stellaris and described it as a substantial undertaking. These were personal references in an interview, not reviews or recommendations.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the interview says about Paradox’s fan relationship
The article’s picture of Paradox is built around a tension: the company was getting bigger, but its identity depended in part on players who were deeply invested in its games and willing to talk directly with developers. Ljungerud’s comments framed fan knowledge and participation as something to retain through growth, rather than a side effect of a convention. Her remarks offer a snapshot of the priorities she expressed at the start of her tenure; they should not be read as a statement of present-day policy.
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