A twelve-year veteran of game development, Shafer has won a BAFTA award for his work on Civilization V, and is now working on a new game with Paradox with details to be announced in the future. Shafer joins the creators of such iconic grand strategy franchises as Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron,and Crusader Kings and will help to drive Paradox’s continuing growth and domination of the strategy genre worldwide.

“Bringing Jon Shafer onto our team is exciting for all of us; there’s probably nobody here who hasn’t personally played and enjoyed his work,” said Johan Andersson, EVP of Creative Direction at Paradox Development Studio. “Adding a new designer to our studio is always a significant challenge. Our fans have very high expectations for us based on the games they play – deep, complex titles with long-lasting, replayable experiences. I’ve known Jon for 15 years now, and I’m excited to have him join us. Jon has the expertise to create more of those experiences, and he shares our core design philosophies; we can’t wait to share his games with our fans.”

“I’ve been a fan of Paradox’s games for years now, and moving onto the team behind some of my favorite titles is an exhilarating moment for me,” said Jon Shafer, Game Director at Paradox Development Studio. “I’ve been drawn to strategy games for as long as I can remember, and it’s harder to find a better selection of rich strategy experiences than at Paradox. I look forward to working on the next big title in their catalog – stay tuned!”

Shafer is best known as the lead designer for Civilization V,though his work also includes designing the Beyond the Swordand Warlords expansions for Sid Meier’s Civilization IV,and he is also currently developing At the Gates, a Kickstarter-funded strategy title of his own creation. He will continue development of At the Gates independent and separate from his work for Paradox Development Studio and Paradox Interactive.