Paradox's Cold War strategy has become that much colder. The studio are tearing down East vs West: A Hearts of Iron Game. In a joint statement on their forum , Paradox and developer BL Logic reveal that the project had "been severely delayed", to the point that not even an early access release would meet their desired timeline. As a result, the game has been officially cancelled.

You can see the full statement below:

"Today it's our sad duty to inform you that it has been decided to cancel the game "East vs West". We at Paradox Interactive have the utmost respect for BL Logic and this is not a decision that has been taken lightly—quite the contrary—but ultimately we are a publisher and our actions and decisions must reflect that.

"As the project has been severly delayed we dont think that open beta / early acccess could, within our desired timeline, meet the set criteria.

"It has been a journey of ups and downs since we started the development of East Vs West back in May 2011. We wish each other nothing but the best with future endeavors.

"We also would like to thank the developers for their hard work and their tremendous effort, as well as the fans for their long term commitment and their never ending support."

It's a shame, because the game had a lot of promise. Playing as any country, you would have delved into the turbulent world of foreign relations, proxy wars and nuclear brinksmanship. Planned features included DEFCON levels, space races, the doomsday clock, and other things mid-20th century politics nerds love to obsess over. Read Graham's preview , and contemplate what could have been.

On the other hand - and obviously not knowing details - there's every chance this was for the best. Paradox have had a rocky history as a publisher, most infamously with Gettysburg: Armored Warfare . Whatever the story behind East vs West's cancellation, it's perhaps for the best that they were prepared to drop it, rather than release yet another unfinished game.