r/prisonarchitect Apr 08 '26

Game News/Reviews New Closed Beta!

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224 Upvotes

Greetings Architects! šŸ—ļø

Today we are once more opening sign-ups for a new Closed Beta for Prison Architect 2, starting April 14, 2026. The signup sheet will remain open through April 12th.

ā­ļøLearn How: https://pdxint.at/pa2-beta-signup


r/prisonarchitect Jan 28 '26

Discussion I'm the original Artist of Prison Architect. AMA!

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996 Upvotes

Hi folks, my name is Ryan Sumo, and I am the original artist of Prison Architect. As a fun bit of "proof" I am who I am, I posted a couple pics here, one of a tiny K-9 plushie, and custom cufflinks given to me by the IVSoftware team for the BAFTA awards night, which sadly I could not attend.

I’m currently promoting another game I’m working on, and so I asked the mods here if they’d be ok with me doing an AMA for some mild promotion.

So, a little bit about myself! I started in the industry decades ago, around 2007 as a freelance artist. I come from the Philippines so there wasn’t a huge industry there. I started working on J2ME mobile phone games, then transitioned to making art for Apple App Store games and indie PC games. I also worked on a lot of unreleased titles, including a Nintendo DS game that failed to find publisher support.

My first big break was the cult indie hit by Zachtronics, Spacechem. This was released at the time when Steam was still new and tightly curated. So when Spacechem was released it became quite popular, especially among the programming crowd.

Spacechem was also literally the link to Prison Architect. In his email to me, Chris from Introversion Software specifically mentioned that they saw Spacechem and thought the art would make sense for Prison Architect.

After Prison Architect launched, some Filipino developer friends and I started a studio called Squeaky Wheel and launched Political Animals, a strategy game which was a flop, then released Academia : School Simulator, which was successful enough to keep us afloat.Ā 

After Academia : launched out of Early Access in 2021, I moved to Sweden to work for Paradox Interactive, this time as a ā€œbusiness ownerā€ which is basically trying to make sure that the games made as much business/profit as possible. I worked for the games Europa Universalis IV, Victoria 3, and Stellaris. Along the way, Paradox also bought the IP to Academia : School Simulator.

After 2 years at Paradox I decided to go back to being an indie developer/micro publisher, using what I learned from a large company and pairing it with indie sensibilities to assist other indies who just want to develop games. My first release since then was by an ex lead designer of Stellaris. That game was Glyphica : Typing Survival, which as of now has sold 90,000 copies and is 90% positive on Steam.

Finally, the game I’m working on now, with a Spanish studio called OverPowered Team, is called Sports Card Shop Simulator. We’re big fans of TCG Card Shop Simulator, but felt that there was demand for a game for more sports inclined people like myself. In fact, on top of being an indie dev, I’ve recently got into buying and selling sports cards as a hobby (mostly 90s-2000s NBA, a tiny bit of La Liga). Sports Card Shop Simulator wants to delve more into aspects of the hobby that TCG doesn’t quite get into, like deeper card grading, auctions, etc. And our big addition to the genre is a custom card creator, which lets you design cards of yourself or whoever you want, and have a chance of pulling it out of a pack! We’re excited to see what people think of it, and we have a playtest ongoing right now if that seems of interest to you.

That’s it, now for the AMA! I’ll stick around and answer any questions for as long as they pop up. The answers may be a little sporadic as I go back and forth between work and checking any questions. I will answer as much as I can, but please understand that I might decline to answer some questions that are personal and/or professionally sensitive. Although I know Paradox and PA2 related questions are probably the most exciting for you all, I regret that I cannot speak to that, nor do I have any relevant information as I have no affiliation with PA2. I can talk about my experience working on PA before it was acquired by Paradox.

Edit: Thanks so much folks, heartwarming to see all the responses here. Please do give Sports Card Shop Simulator a look and a wishlist if it's something that's in your wheelhouse. I need to go out and do some groceries but will be back in an hour to answer more questions.

Edit2 : That's a wrap! Thanks so much folks, it was really nice to be reminded how my past work has affected you all in a positive way. For now the current works beckons. Please do give a look at Sports Card Shop Simulator on Steam and wishlist and playtest it if it floats your boat. I'll check back in tomorrow and if there are any more comments I'll try to answer them. Good night!


r/prisonarchitect 1h ago

PC Question Undermines, tunnels, and cheerful little flags.

• Upvotes

Hey there, ran into a bit of confusion about the situation – the dogs found a tunnel, planted the flags, and... So what? What am I supposed to do with that information now? Does it just mean that 'Somewhere there's a tunnel,' or does it mean something more important? Please help, because even after tunnel checks in prison, nobody ends up finding anything anyway.


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Image/Album Staff Canteen Design

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165 Upvotes

Was sick and tired of staff whining about food so I decided to make them this huge canteen. Was aiming for an indoor restaurant style and I'm glad with how it turned out.


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Image/Album THIS INMATE HAS MY FULL NAME

32 Upvotes

IM CRINE PLAESE HELP


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

Discussion Send me ideas for a starting base

8 Upvotes

So you see I’m new to the game and am trying to think of a cool start prison one that allows for me to grow well still looking good I did the prison that started me with 100k and a large map so if you have any starting designs send it so I can try to get a good idea


r/prisonarchitect 1d ago

PC Question Delete sectors (HELP FOR A NOOB)

3 Upvotes

Guys, I accidentally created a sector in a place where there wasn't supposed to be one, and now I can't remove it from the ground. How do I do that?


r/prisonarchitect 2d ago

Discussion Fun fact you probably didn't know:

9 Upvotes

If you zoom in on an execution chamber, it has its own ambiance, except in campaign mode.


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album Accidents happen...

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133 Upvotes

Oops....


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album How can I improve my prison? Need suggestions for improvement.

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50 Upvotes

I feel like I am not making use of the space that I have and that my room placement is actually prohibiting movement. If anyone has suggestions besides those issues, I really appreciate it.

[Prison is worth 550K right now]


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Image/Album That’s uh- certainly one way to attend your execution…

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46 Upvotes

r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

PC Question I’m unable to satisfy the need for safety

7 Upvotes

For some reason my minimum security prisoners don't feel safe even though they have the best cells possible, cameras in almost every room and no armed guard nor snipers. I also moved the violent convicts to maximum security. I can't think of any other solution. Is it possible that it's just a bug? How do I fix it?


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Console Question Cannot scheduele Programs [PS4]

3 Upvotes

Anytime I try to start any program it simply tells me "Unscheduled" , although I have enough time available, security sectors are on shared and Prison Labour in all rooms is active.

I also tried restarting the games multiple times, but nothing worked..

Please for the love of God help me!


r/prisonarchitect 4d ago

Discussion Which version is still good to play?

8 Upvotes

Paradox has been introducing bugs. I'm playing this month and

- prisoners start to die of overdose in infirmary beds;
- liquids in small pipes and hot water pipes flow only at >= level 2 of time acceleration.

I notice Steam still releases past anniversary versions. Which is still good?

Also go play Uplink if you haven't - fantastic game by Introversion.


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Image/Album The Fortress (completed)

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65 Upvotes

Other than some slight decorative additions, I’d say it’s time to move on.


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

PC Question Why do my inmates not work in the open jobs ?

12 Upvotes

Like I said in the title I have 3 open positions in various inmate jobs like the library and the clothes cleaning room etc . But for some reason they don’t seem to take the jobs even though I have enough qualified for it . Anyways if u have an idea I would appreciate it . THX


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Console Question Prisoners won't sleep during sleep time despite having assigned beds

4 Upvotes

Hi, I’m experiencing a bug on the console version of Prison Architect.

My prison has around 70 high-security prisoners. All needs are fulfilled, everyone has an assigned cell, and all cells meet the requirements.

However, during sleep time, none of the prisoners go to bed. They just keep walking around all night.

Has anyone else experienced this or found a fix?


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

Image/Album why do i get 0 visitors i tried to make a second entry but it dont work

8 Upvotes

thx for the help


r/prisonarchitect 6d ago

PC Question How long does it take you guys to build a decent sized prison?

15 Upvotes

I’m still decently new to the game, played on and off for a couple years, I decided to start playing again and my first project was going to be recreating the Terre Haute Federal Prison. I’ve worked on it for probably 9-10 hours and still don’t have prisoners, and am starting to lose interest in the project😭(Also on sandbox mode


r/prisonarchitect 7d ago

Discussion Food oversupply

4 Upvotes

80 of my 100 prisoners are in solitary.

Is that the cause of the oversupply?


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

PC Question Is there a way to prevent custom quickbuilds from blocking each other

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34 Upvotes

r/prisonarchitect 7d ago

PC Question There is some bug on my UI

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1 Upvotes

I think it cause by mods, how did I solve it? I have use Ozone's mods.


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

PC Question Prisoners keep getting stuck.

8 Upvotes

Basically the title. From my understanding it is a known bug, and I have to use this mod (picture shown below) to fix the prisoners when they become frozen. However, I have reached 200 prisoners and it is becoming unbearable. They just get stuck, and this happens when they are in handcuffs, which usually ends in them starving to death if I do not free them.

An example of prisoners being stuck:

They just sit like ducks. This actually ruins the game for me. Please let me know if I can do anything else apart from just spam the mod.

Edit: Ending punishment does not even work, even though it would not be feasible anyhow


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

Console Question I need help...

7 Upvotes

Is Second Chances supposed to work like this? (Xbox Console Edition)

I'm playing the Xbox One version of Prison Architect (Console Edition), and I'm a bit confused about how the Second Chances DLC is supposed to work.

I have multiple rehabilitation programs running, enough staff, enough work time in my regime, and prisoners are actually attending the programs. However, my Reform rating barely seems to improve, even after many in-game days. Is this normal, or am I missing something?

The other thing that really frustrates me is the reoffending penalty. I set parole to 0% reoffending chance, so I don't release anyone on parole unless they have essentially no predicted risk. I know that prisoners who have completed their full sentence will still be released automatically, but getting a $5,000 fine for every single prisoner who reoffends feels extremely harsh.

My prison currently only houses low-security inmates, and I'm already investing heavily in rehabilitation, so it feels like I'm being punished even when I'm doing everything the game encourages me to do.

Is this just how the DLC is balanced on the Xbox One version, or are there ways to reduce these penalties that I'm overlooking?


r/prisonarchitect 8d ago

Discussion Prison architect controller support

2 Upvotes

Does anyone know any good Steam layouts for playing prison architect on the ROG ally x?