July 14^th, 2005 (1:38pm) - Paradox Interactive has announced that is has acquired the Europa Universalis brand and all associated intellectual property rights. Recognized for their stronghold on the strategy niche, Paradox has two successful Europa Universalis games behind them.

"It is with great satisfaction that we announce the acquisition of this brand, especially since we have been working under a license for several years," says Theodore Bergquist, CEO of Paradox Interactive. "Europa Universalis is one of the strongest brands for strategy games on the PC, and our future plans include sequels as well as add-ons like an online game."

The original Europa Universalis boardgame was designed by Philippe Thibaut and published by Azure Wish Editions in 1992. This was the basis for Paradox Interactive’s first, but certainly not last, conversion of a popular board game to the PC.

"A successful component of our corporate strategy is to control the intellectual property rights to our key brands. Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron have been our most successful franchises to date," concludes Bergquist.

Europa Universalis II is being ported over to the Nintendo DS for a release this winter.