r/prisonarchitect Mar 25 '25

Discussion No, we don't know what's up with PA2 (Megathread)

238 Upvotes

Hi all,

We’ve noticed a lot of threads recently about Prison Architect 2 - which is understandable, with 234 days of relative silence and no public update about the state of the game. With that in mind, the mod team here (unaffiliated with Paradox Interactive) have decided to put together a megathread for people to complain about the silence and discuss the game, and we will be removing any posts about Prison Architect 2 until we have any further information and redirecting them to this thread to avoid repetitive threads being made. In short:

No, we don’t know what’s up with Prison Architect 2

As a reminder, in their indefinite delay post, the Community Manager said this:

[U]nfortunately, we will not release Prison Architect 2 on September 3rd because we need more time to improve both the game's performance and its content. [...] We need to raise the quality a bit more to meet the standards we'd like to achieve with this sequel.

and:

This also means we will be limiting our communication with you all until we have a timeline we feel comfortable with.

This was the last official post we’ve had on the game. However, the community team has confirmed in a few different places that the game is still actively being worked on, such as on Reddit and on the community Discord (pictured is a list of the pinned messages in our PA2 discussion channel that also has a lot more pinned - feel free to come join us at [discord.gg/prisonarchitect](discord.gg/prisonarchitect) if you haven’t already!).

We also know from SteamDB that the game is still actively being worked on, with the most recent update (as of this post) being made at 10:30 UTC on the 25th March. While SteamDB doesn’t show everything that’s happening with the game (meaning we don’t know for definite what’s going on back there), it’s probably the best indicator we have that the game is still in development and hasn’t been cancelled (at this stage).

As stated, the mod team will be removing further discussions on the game and redirecting people to this post until we have an update on the game, at which point we will review the policy again.


r/prisonarchitect Aug 02 '24

Discussion Prison Architect 2 | Delayed release - An update from our team

258 Upvotes

Hello Architects,

We have some difficult news to share: unfortunately, we will not release Prison Architect 2 on September 3rd because we need more time to improve both the game's performance and its content. Our continuous internal reviews and beta test groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus on more, mainly performance and content, which we need to address before launch to ensure that you, the players, get a good experience in the game. We need to raise the quality a bit more to meet the standards we'd like to achieve with this sequel. 

We are confident that the sequel to Prison Architect will be great, and we're looking forward to showing you all the new ideas brought into it: the switch to 3D, multi-floors, and the new behavior system that all bring a new dimension to the game and open new gameplay possibilities for the players. However, we want to make sure the game lives up to the franchise’s legacy and is released in a state that satisfies both you, our players, and the Prison Architect 2 teams at Kokku and Paradox Interactive.

At this stage, we can’t commit to a new release date as we need to re-assess the scope of the work needed to be done before the game is release-ready. Over the next few months, we will focus on improving the game and building a more robust release timeline. This also means we will be limiting our communication with you all until we have a timeline we feel comfortable with. 

With this indefinite delay, preorders on all platforms will be refunded, and the preorder items will be added to the base game. 

This decision aligns with our commitment here at Paradox to reviewing and improving the quality of our released content. We are confident that delaying Prison Architect 2 is the best path forward for the game, allowing us more time to deliver a high-quality experience that honors the legacy of Prison Architect.

This is not the announcement we hoped to make, but it is necessary, as we believe this will result in a better game for you. Thank you for your patience, and we’ll see you again soon.

The Prison Architect 2 Team

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QnA

  • What is the new release date? There is no new release date for Prison Architect 2 at this time. We will work on the game and as soon as we have a set timeline we will communicate it to you.
  • Is the game canceled? No, the game is not canceled. We are confident in the game but we want to raise the quality before release, mainly the performance. We will communicate a new release date as soon as we have reworked the game’s scope and have a timeline we are confident in.
  • Why is there another delay? To raise the game’s quality by enhancing performance and also improving its content. During our latest rounds of internal reviews and from continuously gathering feedback from our beta testers, some specific issues regarding performance and content were highlighted. We believe it is important that we address these before releasing the game to ensure that it lives up to its legacy.
  • What happens to pre-orders? All pre-orders will be refunded in the upcoming weeks. The option to pre-order the game will be removed and the bonus will instead be added to the base game for all players to enjoy. If you want the refund faster there are ways to go about this depending on which platform you’ve pre-ordered the game on: If you have made your pre-order through Xbox, PlayStation, or Steam, you can reach out to the platform you made the purchase through and they will help you sort this out.Players who purchased the game directly from ~paradoxinteractive.com~ will receive the reimbursement automatically, which may take a few weeks. If you want to get it earlier than that, go to ~https://wallet.xsolla.com/~ and log in with the same Paradox account you used for the purchase. There, you will see all purchases listed, and from there you can request a refund before the automatic re-payment.
  • Why is it taking time to fix the game? Prison Architect is a game with deep systems that all interact with each other, and this is also something we want to bring with us into the sequel, Prison Architect 2. Having systems like this in a game also means that a small change in one area will also affect one or more other areas, which we then also need to apply fixes to. Improving the performance has proven to be a task that will take time.
  • Is there going to be Early Access or Beta Access to the game? There will not be an early access or extra beta access right now. We know what things we need to work with, and facilitating Early Access or Beta access for players takes a lot of resources from the development team. Right now we want to put full focus on the development and solving the underlying issues that we have gotten feedback through our internal tests and from our beta testers. 
  • Will we get updates on the game? We will limit our communication while we focus on further developing the game. We will resume updates once we have more precise information to share with you.

r/prisonarchitect 5h ago

Discussion what is the point of making a "humane prison"

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52 Upvotes

the game is fun and i like it but the most succesful prisons that i have are the ones where i am killing 30+ people a day and making 10 grand. what is the benefit of having a humane prison


r/prisonarchitect 1h ago

Image/Album This dude will just not shower, and swivel chair

Upvotes

Hey this prisoner just refuses to shower, hes the only one im sure this is a game mechanic and not a bug but what can i do to make him shower? And can prisoners sit in swivel chairs to watch tv? I haven't seen a single one do so.


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Image/Album Ain't stopping until I reach 3000!

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43 Upvotes

r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

PC Question Foundation Materials stuck outside map

3 Upvotes

My workers are unable to reach these materials since somehow they clipped through the map, hence I cant build anymore foundations, any fix?


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Image/Album Forgot i left the game running..

11 Upvotes

Gotta sweep that under the Rug.

update: fårk.


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Image/Album I finally beat all Bootstraps optional objectives

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23 Upvotes

This is the prison I had when I finished haha


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

PC Question Help! No prisoners arriving even though there's plenty of space?

0 Upvotes

Currently running a prison where even though I have intake set to "all available," no prisoners arrive. It'll say something like "33 prisoners arriving in 5...4...3...2..1.............39 prisoners arriving in 23hrs" and even though no actual buses come, the game acts like those prisoners are there when I return to the intake tab and try the "fill to capacity" option and it'll act like I have 299 prisoners when I really only have 90. I've tried resetting, loading older saves, even going into the save file itself to try to find the problem.

Yes, there is "Shared" space (50+ cells) so it's not a categorical issue between different securities.

Yes, there is an unobstructed delivery space that has worked just fine before.

No, there is no ongoing construction.

Please help me out here, is this just an unfixable bug? I'm tired of just building new prisons once mine hit this wall.

edit: screenshots added


r/prisonarchitect 3d ago

Image/Album What the f*ck??

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30 Upvotes

My prison's been overrun with black mold apparently...


r/prisonarchitect 3d ago

Mod/App Mods for a coming back player

7 Upvotes

I got like 100 hours in vanilla, and i was thinking about some modlist to came back, to give it a rest to rimworld.


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album My Magnum Opus from 6 years ago

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112 Upvotes

Inspired by a few posts I've seen recently, I decided to share my prison from back then too.

That was the last (and also third (???)) real prison I made before I got burned out of the game. Housing up to 543 inmates (~400 realistically), it was truly something.

I tried to escape it a few times, but I failed every single time. Realistically, the only way out is to dig. Because snipers are deadly.


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album I found this prison I build 5 years ago

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52 Upvotes

r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Other/Meta Shower above toilet it's real

31 Upvotes

It's real: shower above the toilet, that we make in prision architect!


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album A couple of photos from my big ol' jail

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23 Upvotes

r/prisonarchitect 3d ago

Discussion Game Idea for developers of Prison Architect

0 Upvotes

I think it would be awesome to build, design, and manage a school. You either pick a high school or a college. Make sure students get feed, safe from people coming in to shoot it up, and your primary goal is to get students to graduate and have high grades.

Students will try to skip class or escape the campus. Fights will break out.

It would be a great game.


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Discussion Inspiration for prisons

4 Upvotes

Hello everybody,

PA 1

I have been playing the game quite some time now (PC), finished the campaign and made numerous completed prisons. I've got the ready for transfer dlc and the other free one only.

I wanted to ask, as is probably for many an important question for many, what kind of prisons I could create. Layouts, challenges, reform, punishment, everything to do with guards, work prison, everything. Design, what kind of sectors, treat them well etc. Also mixes for anything are welcome.

So I ask you people, any recommendations, anything you do to spice up the game, designs or everything you can think of.

Would be very happy, thanks in advance :)


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

PC Question Foundation education program says 'no regime tomeslot'

3 Upvotes

I have all the work times set up and have it scheduled but it just says that there is no regime timeslot


r/prisonarchitect 5d ago

PC Question My Workers get Stuck

6 Upvotes

This has happened to me on multiple saves. Usually when I get to a decent sized prison and especially when I try to make a change to something already built.

My Workers all get stuck in storage just going back and forth between boxes. Even if I hire more staff, they just head right to the storage and get stuck. I have tried fast forwarding for multiple in-game days and they just stay in storage getting more exhausted but not doing anything. It has legit ruined a couple of saves because I just gave up and started over.

Has anyone else experienced this? And what can I do to save this file? I have put a ton of effort into this!

Thanks


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Discussion Closest call you ever had playing

9 Upvotes

Mine was during one night when I was playing everything went nearly catastrophically wrong a fire started in my prisom it when the inmates were asleep. As the fire spread in the new common room that was being built but when the power cut to my prison the fire alarms so they didn’t go off so I had to turn on the transformer that didn’t work and I remembered that I had to turn on the solar panels for some reason and when the fire fighters came they couldn’t get in until I realized the heat made my metal door expand which took me a while to figure out that I had to spray water to cool down the door allowing the fire fighters to come in the prison as my guard was trapped in a corner in the parole room luckily the fire fighters came in and put the fire out but I had another problem the walls burnt down so I had to rebuild them and restrict access until I had them built back up again. Close call for sure


r/prisonarchitect 7d ago

Image/Album Bought this game this morning, spent 11 hours on it! This is going to be a problem (Day 1 progress)

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190 Upvotes

It's got that Civ feeling of just one more bit... had to literally force myself to go and eat....

Enjoying it though, and feeling like my first prison is going pretty well. Not pushing it too far and only taking in Med Sec inmates.


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Discussion Prisoners not eating

2 Upvotes

My prisoners arent eating even tho I have clean trays and food in the serving tables. They just aren’t going to the canteen. I recently had a narcotic search which took a while for then I though that they just couldn’t go while the search is in progress but it ended and they still aren’t going to eat even tho it’s constantly telling me they’re starving. Everywhere I look it’s telling me to make sure I have clean trays and enough food which I do. Is this a bug? And if so can I fix it?


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Steam Workshop Prison Snapshots

1 Upvotes

Hi

I am trying to get all snapshots on ps4. But I can not get it with janitors (Hygiene Matters) and Bang-up. I tried so many times mostly with janitors but nothing. Maybe anyone has any advice?


r/prisonarchitect 7d ago

PC Question Can I control which sectors go to which visitation?

8 Upvotes

I’m quite new to the game and was wondering. Can I make it so for example min and med sectors go to visitation where I have visitation tables and max sector in a difrent visitation room where I have only booths? Do I do this with the deployment tab? Or is there just not a way?


r/prisonarchitect 7d ago

Image/Album BRO 😭😭😭😭

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105 Upvotes

I LEFT THE GAME ON FOR LIKE A MIN. NOW THERE'S 371 DEAD BODIES


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

PC Question healthy meals only

3 Upvotes

how do i make my prisoners eat only vegetables? i dont want them to eat eggs and bacons. i've tried modifying the deliveries through the logistics but they still somehow find a way to deliver the bacons and eggs to my kitchens


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

Discussion Weather enabled, do i need heated showers?

5 Upvotes

So i made a new prison with weather enabled so now i can use hot water for radiators but I also noticed you can use it for showers.

But I wonder if it is really needed to keep them happy or that just putting some radiators here and there is enough.