Video games have slowly taken over the world. It seems like everyone has dived deep into the insatiable world of virtual gaming. Inexplicable fun and a pinch of adrenaline rush is everything one needs to get their day started. However, players do not acknowledge the origin of such games. There came a need for some knowledge.

Fredrik Wester managed to simultaneously teach the youth about historical facts while playing adventure games with high-quality graphics. This way the unintentional learning process took its course. Fredrik created a platform for everyone’s taste.

With Paradox Interactive, the world of electronic games was no longer an enigma. Game-enthusiasts experienced a whole new spectrum of opportunities within the digital world. Paradox Interactive presented the shift from one era to another, from analog to digital. If you want to know how some of everyone's favorite games came to be, continue to read Fredrik’s story down below.

Lives

Fredrik Wester was born in 1974, in Stockholm. Growing in a fairly comfortable home, Fredrik could afford to fully enjoy the true meaning of childhood. He was well looked after and well-mannered from a very early age. It seemed that Fredrik enjoyed social gatherings more than spending time on his own. His tenacity, persistence, and charm got him many pats on the shoulder. It seemed like he was a born gentleman, always on the run to please other people. Fredrik was always ready to converse with anyone on any topic of their interest. Because he showed signs of such intelligence from a young age, Fredrik’s father would bring him home lots of video games to even out and engage his hyper personality.

The moment he first laid his eyes on a Nintendo, he instantly fell in love. He could not fathom the graphics or control the characters by a single push. Something about the rush of accomplishing a mission while playing Super Mario or Donkey Kong satisfied Fredrik’s need for excitement during the daytime. Days went into nights and vise-versa, and it seemed like Fredrik had found his calling. Something about being in control had implemented a sense of pure leadership in Fredrik when he decided that he wanted to dabble in the field of computer graphics and video game programming. This was his true interest at heart, and he knew that to accomplish his goal, he needed to own a set of skills.

He was advised by his father to pursue a career in business. Fredrik already had an extensive amount of knowledge wedged into his brain. He was told to nurture his ambitions and leadership skills by becoming a part of the adventurous world of commerce. Because of his excellent grades, as well as the extensive praise he received from teachers during his previous education, he embarked on his college journey in 1993, at the University of Law, Business, and Economics in Gothenburg.

This would be a wise move on Fredrik’s behalf, as he would continue to venture and lead numerous companies until establishing his child project, called Paradox Interactive.

Level Up

His college years went by in a matter of minutes. Fredrik Wester would regard his studying years as fun and entertaining, as he hungrily grabbed onto any piece of information about the business world. His grades skyrocketed as Fredrik had no trouble learning about the tips and tricks of running a business in the dog-eat-dog world. He graduated with high praises, but he did not have much time to finish his master’s degree in international business. However, this little bump on the road did not halt Fredrik’s pursuit into starting his own business, as he had already known the basic knowledge needed to pave his own path.

In 1998, Fredrik started to stack the blocks for what would become known as Paradox Interactive. He used his cool social skills to converse his way to the top, and so he did.

2003 marked the year when Fredrik finally blew up with his startup- Paradox Interactive as an executive vice president. This was a project that hung upon Fredrik’s head dating back from 1993 when he decided that he would do what it takes to accomplish his lifelong dream of developing his own video game. With Paradox Interactive, Fredrik managed to create not one, but a whole plethora of amazing video games. These video games were designed to make the most of the time spent playing, while simultaneously educating the players about fun historical facts.

Paradox Interactive became the number one video game publisher that focuses on historical events played through a strategy-based computer game. Paradox Development Studio published many fan-favorites like Magicka, Hearts of Iron series, and Crusader Kings. The platform uses first-class technology products and services including Google Analytics, HTML5, and jQuery.

Unlocked Bonuses & Challenges

Fredrik knew that to get by in the video-gaming industry, he had to rely on his communication skills, something that felt so natural to him. He knew that appreciating people’s hard work will take him a long way. Fredrik was guided by the idea that the crucial part of being a successful company is to keep investing. At first, it was very difficult to get recognition in the ever-changing world of gaming, especially so in the early 2000s. The world had not yet been acquainted with the paradoxical world of video gaming and the sense of virtual reality.

At the very beginning, Paradox Interactive was met with distrust, as the world had never experienced that form of entertainment before. Video games and computers in total were still relatively new to the world, but because there were so many options, it confused players even more. However, with pure devotion to the craft, anything can be achieved.

It was staggeringly difficult at one point, but Fredrik and his team managed to pull through. Through placing themselves on worldwide markets, Paradox Interactive got the recognition it deserved.

Now, the company offers more than thousands of video games, available to play at any time. Some of the most popular ones include Crusader Kings III, Cities: Skylines, Europa Universalis IV, Surviving Mars, and many more action-packed, adrenaline-provoking games. Stellaris, Surviving Mars, and Skylines were all created as a part of the digital convention that Paradox participated in, PDXCon Remixed in 2021. Paradox Interactive partnered with Europa Universalis to bring even more games to loyal fans. Since the company fully started reaching audiences in 2003, it has spread around the world through digital channels, fast. The games produced by Paradox Interactive are PC and mobile-friendly. By 200,6 Paradox Interactive had spread to the US, UK, China, and Russia.

Paradox Interactive, Today

Back in 2016, the platform got its first investors, Tencent, and Pepins Group AB, who in their words, recognized the potential in perfecting video game development. Paradox Interactive had raised a total of $32.6M in two rounds.
After the major win, funding-wise, Fredrik decided that the best thing to do to improve Paradox Interactive was to acquire White Wolf and Triumph Studios. Fredrik’s business wish came true in 2017.

This was the jackpot for Fredrik, as he climbed up to become the CEO of the company. After grasping the concept of investing pretty well, in 2020, Fredrik made a decision to invest in a company called Iceflake Studios.

Paradox Interactive remained true to its roots and obtained its headquarters in Stockholm, but it also opened offices in the US. The people in the company are proud to say that Paradox Interactive has grown from its initial start with only seven employees, to reach a number of 251 employees, internationally. The platform offers more than 100 different titles for players to choose from. As Paradox Interactive grew in size, so did the number of players, which has increased by over 18 million.

Paradox Interactive achieved its goal to come up with the most challenging of games that will provide players with an opportunity to learn fun, historical facts while engaging in exciting and adrenaline-packed video games.

Fredrik started as an executive vice president at Paradox Interactive, and he gradually climbed his way to the CEO position. His persistence and soft-spoken nature made coworkers around him hand him over their unconditional trust. After experiencing full-blown success, Fredrik stayed true to his goals and decided to step down as the CEO and become the executive chairman. That was his ultimate move in the fast-paced world of business and entertainment.

A lot similar to the heroic characters in his games, Fredrik was the epitome of a character that always beat the mission. Fredrik spent 18 years in Paradox Interactive before finally becoming the CEO and a chairman, and that was the paradox itself.