Paradox CEO apologizes for 'inappropriate behavior' with employee in 2018

Paradox Interactive HQ
(Image credit: Paradox Interactive (via Facebook))

Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester has issued a statement apologizing for his "inappropriate behavior" with another Paradox employee during a company conference held in 2018. 

"Beginning of 2018, we held a company-wide conference, and during this gathering, a Paradox employee was subject to inappropriate behavior from me personally," Wester tweeted. "This was something I immediately and sincerely apologized for in person the following Monday in a process reviewed by HR.

"Everyone should have the right to be comfortable and safe, especially around a person in a position of power such as myself, something I stated then and I am stating again now. It has never been my intention to make anyone uncomfortable around me, but that is still what happened, much to my regret. Following this episode, I have been working with my coach and mentor to understand the impact of my behavior better, and to better myself."

The apology comes less than two weeks after the resignation of Paradox's previous CEO, Ebba Ljungerud, and one week after the leak of an internal survey at the studio which found that a majority of the female employees had experienced some form of abusive mistreatment

Wester was president and CEO of Paradox Interactive from 2009 to 2018, when he stepped down from both roles and became executive chairman of Paradox's board of directors—a decision he said was unrelated to the incident in question. He was replaced by Ebba Ljungerud, who unexpectedly resigned from the company on September 1 over what Paradox said were "differing views on the company's strategy going forward."

Wester said at the time that Ljungerud's resignation was not connected to the leaked survey, which concluded that "offensive treatment is a systematic and far too common problem at Paradox," and that "there is a perception that perpetrators at managerial level are protected by the company." 

Despite that, the timing of recent events is bound to raise questions, and having to apologize for a past workplace incident less than two weeks after being reappointed to the top job—and just one week after a report about widespread mistreatment of employees at Paradox became public knowledge—is not a great place to start. Wester acknowledged that fact and said that because of it, he would not be directly involved with handling HR issues.

"I understand that this makes my cause less credible when it comes to handling these issues internally and will therefore not be involved directly with it, it will be done by HR at Paradox with external help, but of course with my full support if needed," he said.

From that message it's unclear what exactly Wester is recusing himself from—wider employee-related matters, or further resolution of the 2018 incident itself.  I've reached out to Paradox for further comment and will update if I receive a reply.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
helldivers 2 arrowhead CCO johan pilestedt
Johan Pilestedt is taking a sabbatical from Helldivers 2 after working 'around the clock' for 11 years, will move on to 'the next Arrowhead game' when he returns
Spartan armour in Helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 director decides to kick off 2025 by wading into a conversation about DEI: 'Make good games, don't make a contemporary political statement'
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth PC
Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
Mark Darrah
BioWare veteran calls out the 'cruelty' of fans celebrating layoffs: 'You are crossing a line, and you're probably attacking the wrong person anyway'
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 screenshot - swordfight with man in armor
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 forum rules that banned racism, homophobia, and neo-Nazism walked back by the publisher, which now just asks everyone to please be nice
Less than 4 months after revealing his studio's new game, Michael Condrey has reportedly been given the boot by 2K Games
Latest in Strategy
Mongolian throne room
Crusader Kings 3 saddles up for a long-awaited return to the east with its first Asian DLC, Khans of the Steppe
Manor Lords promo art - knight on horseback looking at a medieval village in the distance, viewed from behind
PCG's best city builder of 2024 is adding a map with a gigantic hill in the middle: the perfect spot for your next castle
Maximillian from Evil Genius 2
Rebellion CEO says Evil Genius 3 could happen but wonders 'what else could we do with it other than a base-building game?'
A city from 1800
One of the best city builders of the last decade is currently 90% off on Steam
Company of Heroes 3
Company of Heroes 3 is free to try and 50% off, so it's the best time to check out the beefy 2.0 overhaul
People swimming in a pool and lying on floats
Planet Coaster 2's spring roadmap splashes down, with 'round-bottomed flumes' coming in March and buildable restaurants arriving in April
Latest in News
Crying laughing emoji with disturbing realistic elements for REPO
REPO's first update will add a new map and a 'duck bucket' so we can finally give that pesky quacker a time out
Man facing camera
The Day Before studio reportedly sues Russian website for calling infamous disaster-game a 'scam'
Will Poulter holding a CD ROM
'What are most games about? Killing': Black Mirror Season 7 includes a follow-up to 2018 interactive film Bandersnatch
Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers
Sony, which is making a Helldivers 2 movie, is also making a new Starship Troopers movie, but it's not based on the Starship Troopers movie we already have
Assassin's Creed meets PUBG
Ubisoft is reportedly talking to Tencent about creating a new business entity to manage Assassin's Creed and other big games
Resident Evil Village - Lady Dimitrescu
'It really truly changed my life in every possible way': Lady Dimitrescu actor says her Resident Evil Village role was just as transformative for her as it was for roughly half the internet in 2021