Swedish Gaming Company Paradox Expands Into eBook Business: Q&A With CEO Fredrik Wester

Swedish video game publisher Paradox Interactive, known for creating Crusader Kings, War of the Roses and Magicka, has expanded its horizons and entered the digital book game. The company launched this spring and now has six titles.

Their games are in the historical strategy arena and their books keep with that theme. They have publishes gaming guides, as well as historical fiction and even a history of Mojang. AppNewser caught up with Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox, to discuss the new endeavor.

AN: Why are you getting into eBooks?

FW: eBooks are entertainment, just as games are and we see a big overlap between our gamers and book readers so we see it as a great fit.

AN: What kinds of books are you making? Will they have interactive features?

FW: To begin with we are making books that are based on or connected to our own IP. It could be game guides or novels taking place in the games’ universe. To begin with it’s only text, but we are looking forward to adding more interactive features going forward.

AN: Where will you sell your eBooks?

FW: We are starting with Amazon Kindle but will soon be available in all major formats on all major outlets including some game related resellers like Steam.

AN: What devices are you designing for?

FW: All kinds of tablets, smartphones and eReaders.

AN: How does designing for games prepare you for creating eBooks?

FW: The biggest advantage is that we already know the target audience and since we have a fan base that demands a lot from our game products we can develop book products over time that they help us define and find a market for.

AN: What is different about designing for eBooks than for games?

FW: Books are a story from start to finish while most of our games are open ended or more sand box oriented. While it’s easy to add extra features to a game after release with a patch or update it is not possible in the same way with written text so the planning is a bit different.

AN: Will you be making Swedish language books? Will you also be expanding to other languages?

FW: English is the first step, mainly because the US is our biggest market but we will look into other languages soon.
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