Paradox Interactive has acquired the rights to developer Introversion Software's enormously successful prison management sim, Prison Architect.

As part of the deal's official announcement, Paradox CEO Ebba Ljungerud called Prison Architect "a natural fit" for the company's catalogue, which features a host of strategy and management games, including the likes of Cities: Skylines, Stellaris, Surviving Mars, BattleTech, and Crusader Kings.

"I believe the considerable player base of Prison Architect will be excited to see where we can take the game next," said Ljungerud, "We promise to exercise good behaviour with this cherished title going forward."

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Out of the blue, Prison Architect has added cooperative multiplayer.

It's far from finished and requires opting into alpha/beta updates on Steam if you want to try it, but once enabled you can happily go about building a top-notch prison with your friends (up to seven).

There's plenty that doesn't work in multiplayer because the game was never meant to have it, but Introversion has plenty of ideas about how to flesh it out and improve it so long as you want it. If everyone who tries it hates it then Introversion probably won't bother.

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Prison Architect studio Introversion has unveiled a new game called Order of Magnitude, and I played it at EGX Rezzed today.

It's a space colonisation game set as Earth becomes uninhabitable and humankind is forced to make a go of it on the moon. To begin with this involves building structures focused on basic survival: shelters, algae farms (for food), and oxygen harvesters for air. But the longer you survive, as with all games of this kind, the more advanced you become, and soon you will be recycling your waste into water (yuck) and fertiliser and growing potatoes from it. Do you want to come over for dinner?

There are different minerals to target and mine, and different scientific procedures to employ - Introversion hasn't shirked on the science.

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