Prison Architect 2 is just a few months away from launch and a major change has undergone behind the scenes. Publisher Paradox Interactive today announced a change in studios for the project, with long-time franchise developer Double Eleven giving over Prison Architect 2 development duties to Brazilian studio Kokku.
"After 9 years together, Double Eleven is leaving Prison Architect. Double Eleven has been with us since the console port, led the development of the game on all platforms, and has been working on Prison Architect 2 over the last few years," says Paradox in the announcement regarding the split. "With the sequel passing certification on all platforms, the contract was fulfilled. However, we could not find a commercial agreement that worked for both parties moving forward and mutually agreed to part ways."
Double Eleven fully took over Prison Architect"s development when the original developer, Introversion Software, sold the IP and game rights to Paradox Interactive in 2019. It has also been the lead developer of the sequel since its inception, with Kokku helping out since autumn last year to get the title ready for launch. According to a separate Reddit post by Double Eleven Game Director Gaz, Kokku had taken over the sequel"s development entirely in January, 2024.
"After talking to multiple studios, Kokku was found to be the best fit for the game going forward, as they are veterans in the gaming industry and also long-time fans of Prison Architect," adds Paradox. From its portfolio, Kokku"s has so far worked as a support studio for projects such as Horizon Zero Dawn and Forbidden West, The Forgotten City, and three Sniper Ghost Warrior titles, among others.
Prison Architect 2 has gone through a couple of delays already, with both its original March, 2024 and the later May, 2024 plans falling through. Currently, the prison construction and management title is slated to land on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 on September 3, 2024.