Paradox Interactive are usually known for their wide selection of strategy games, from complex historical titles like Europa Universalis to the forthcoming naval combat game Leviathan Warships, though in recent years they’ve broadened their portfolio to include such games as the Showdown Effect or the million-selling Magicka. Now, the publisher is expanding into the e-book business and their trio of launch titles includes A Year with Mojang: Behind the Scenes of Minecraft.
A Year with Mojang is the work of Swedish video game journalist Thomas Arnroth, who spent last year shadowing Mojang to produce what Paradox are calling “a personal and entertaining account of the phenomenon Minecraft, its creators and the games that are changing the world.” Arnoth is well-known within Sweden as a gaming critic, appearing on national television and in many of the country’s biggest newspapers, and his book will benefit from his time being “more or less embedded” at Mojang, rubbing shoulders with such developers as Notch and Jeb.
Alongside A Year with Mojang, Paradox Books will also be releasinga Hearts of Iron 3 strategy guide, called The Communist Campaign in Karelia, and a scifi noir thriller by the name of Coriolis. The latter is the work of Paradox producer Mattias Lilja, who has also produced a pen and paper RPG by the same name.
It’s interesting to note that Paradox have covered three bases at once with their first books: biographical, factual and fiction. Several more titles are to be announced later in the year. The Paradox Books catalogue can be found here.