Paradox shuts down Life By You studio following Sims-like's sudden cancellation

Following the sudden cancellation of Paradox Interactive’s ambitious Sims-like Life by You, the company has confirmed it’s closing the internal studio behind the project, Paradox Tectonic.

Paradox Tectonic – the 24-person team overseen by former Sims boss and CEO of Second Life studio Linden Labs, Rod Humble – was unveiled with some fanfare back in 2019. It wasn’t last March, however, that its first game, Life By You, was officially revealed.

At the time, it seemed like a solid proposition, promising Sims-like gameplay and ambitious features including an “open game world where everything is customisable” and “real language conversation”. Unfortunately, the project quickly ran into trouble, missing its original September 2023 early access launch before getting hit with a succession of further delays.