Two bits of news for fans of the grand strategy games from Paradox Interactive as we've got a delay for Victoria 3: Sphere of Influence, but we also have a date for Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change.
For the upcoming major expansion Victoria 3: Sphere of Influence, Paradox put out a statement to say that it's just not ready. It was going to come on May 6th, but it's been pushed back to June 24th. Why? As they said "we’ve unfortunately come to the conclusion that both the update and the expansion are in need of more time for bug fixing and polish". It's coming with some pretty big changes and while they're "happy with the features on offer in 1.7/Sphere of Influence, we simply do not believe that sticking to the original release date will allow us to deliver those features in a polished and balanced state".
Fair enough, let's not have a repeat of Europa Universalis IV: Leviathan, which released back in April 2021 and is still sat on Overwhelmingly Negative on Steam. Ouch. It's actually nice to see Paradox take a step back for quality on something.
You can grab Victoria 3 from:
The other side is that they did just announce Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change to release on May 8th, hopefully an expansion that will actually do better this time. Winds of Change adds more focus to key regions of the world. New mission trees, new government reforms and new national mechanics are in place for over a dozen nations. Check out the trailer:
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Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change includes new historical content for:
- Major American Nations: The Aztecs, Maya and Inca all get significant updates, including an Aztec mechanic that promotes warfare and demanding sacrifices, new ways to unite the Mayan nations into one kingdom, Incan royal authority, and many other improvements and updates. These nations also receive special content to allow an alternate-history invasion of the Old World.
- Major Trading Nations: Both The Netherlands and Venice see expanded historical flavor, including more detailed content for the creation and enlargement of the Dutch Republic, the Glorious Revolution uniting the Dutch and British crowns, the Venetian Council of Ten, and the glories of the Venetian Renaissance.
- Gunpowder Empires: The declining Timurid Empire can either fully embrace Persian traditions or return to its horse empire roots through a life of plunder, and the rising Mughal Empire has new routes to unite all of India under its sway. The Central Asian Horde nations also get updates, including unique flavor for the Tatar, Mongol and Moghul Khanates.
- Central Europe: Austria, Hungary and Bohemia get revised trees, including the possibility for the Austrian and Hungarians to form the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary and for Bohemia to expand Hussite Power in the heart of the Empire, while all three can tailor the HRE to their liking.
- Major Formable European Nations: New alt-historical options and content for the formation of Germany and Italy.
- Minor Orthodox Empires: Surrounded by enemies, the Black Sea kingdoms of Theodoro and Trebizond seek to thrive and expand, potentially reviving Orthodox fortunes in the region.
- Hisn Kayfa and Hormuz/Oman: The minor nation Hisn Kayfa, heirs of the Ayyubid dynasty, and major Gulf trading powers of Hormuz and Oman get unique mission trees to dominate the Middle East.
Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change will be available for $19.99 / £16.75 / €19.99.
Europa Universalis IV can be purchased from:
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6 comments
There is a big reason why paradox is delaying victoria 3: Sphere of Influence.
Since the launch of victoria3 the fans aren't happy with the game.
The amount of players is kind of low for paradox and stagnant at best.
With all the updates victoria3 got since the launch, the most issues haven't been fixed.
If they release this expansion in a bad shape, its done with the game.
Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change will probably be the last expansion for EU4.
The changes so far look amazing!
@Liam ; EU5 is already in development, look in the paradox forum at Tinto talks:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forums/tinto-talks.1171/
I think EU5 will be released in 6-12 months from now.
Since the launch of victoria3 the fans aren't happy with the game.
The amount of players is kind of low for paradox and stagnant at best.
With all the updates victoria3 got since the launch, the most issues haven't been fixed.
If they release this expansion in a bad shape, its done with the game.
Europa Universalis IV: Winds of Change will probably be the last expansion for EU4.
The changes so far look amazing!
@Liam ; EU5 is already in development, look in the paradox forum at Tinto talks:
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/forums/tinto-talks.1171/
I think EU5 will be released in 6-12 months from now.
1 Likes, Who?
That expansion sounds like a complete mess they're desperately trying to wrangle into a shippable state. Which would be a welcome change for anything Paradox these days.
1 Likes, Who?
Mountain Man Apr 18
I know Paradox gets a lot of flack for their seemingly endless DLC releases, but you have to admit, they do actively support their games for a very long time.
2 Likes, Who?
ssj17vegeta Apr 19
I know Paradox gets a lot of flack for their seemingly endless DLC releases, but you have to admit, they do actively support their games for a very long time.
I wouldn't call it a support out of kindness. Their whole business model is based on selling DLCs for years then selling it all over again when they release the next game, so it makes sense their games get a decade of updates, much like what EA did with The Sims 4.
What they (rightfully) get shit for is not quality but quantity. Some DLCs only consist of adding 3 buttons (Dharma for EU4) or like 100 events (Friends and Foes for CK3) which more or less amounts to adding several assets and filling a JSON file with new text, not the big programming gameplay challenge it seems to be). People wouldn't mind so much if those DLCs sold for one buck. Alas it's not the case.
Worse thing is, since they went public, the content per dollar for their releases have gone a steady downward spiral, again, much like every other AAA publisher out there, so, no surprise about this shrinkflation. When you compare for example CK3's Northern Lords to CK2's Old Gods in terms of music, events, gameplay additions, it's... mind-boggling.
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Mountain Man Apr 20
I know Paradox gets a lot of flack for their seemingly endless DLC releases, but you have to admit, they do actively support their games for a very long time.
I wouldn't call it a support out of kindness. Their whole business model is based on selling DLCs for years then selling it all over again when they release the next game, so it makes sense their games get a decade of updates, much like what EA did with The Sims 4.
What they (rightfully) get shit for is not quality but quantity. Some DLCs only consist of adding 3 buttons (Dharma for EU4) or like 100 events (Friends and Foes for CK3) which more or less amounts to adding several assets and filling a JSON file with new text, not the big programming gameplay challenge it seems to be). People wouldn't mind so much if those DLCs sold for one buck. Alas it's not the case.
Worse thing is, since they went public, the content per dollar for their releases have gone a steady downward spiral, again, much like every other AAA publisher out there, so, no surprise about this shrinkflation. When you compare for example CK3's Northern Lords to CK2's Old Gods in terms of music, events, gameplay additions, it's... mind-boggling.
Except every DLC release also comes with a free patch that fixes bugs, and in many cases adds new features and content, so even if you never buy a single bit of DLC, you would still benefit from the continued support. And since the DLC is released a la carte, you can pick and choose only the ones that appeal to you, if any.
Of course there is a lot of "fear of missing out" from some folks who have convinced themselves they are getting a lesser experience even if they have no interest in a particular release, and they seem to be the ones who complain the loudest.
2 Likes, Who?
Except every DLC release also comes with a free patch that fixes bugs, and in many cases adds new features and content, so even if you never buy a single bit of DLC, you would still benefit from the continued support. And since the DLC is released a la carte, you can pick and choose only the ones that appeal to you, if any.
Of course there is a lot of "fear of missing out" from some folks who have convinced themselves they are getting a lesser experience even if they have no interest in a particular release, and they seem to be the ones who complain the loudest.
Paradox actually benefits from updating the base game too. Problem is that they should maintain all the DLC and more they diverge from the base game, harder it is to fix the broken DLC before releasing the updates. Even with that I assume that there's plenty of bugs and balance problems to fix.
As for the à la carte, problem is that for a newcomer that's quite confusing. As amount of DLC increase, potential buyer has harder and harder time figuring out what is actually essential. If I remember correctly, first fix was to release DLC bundles. At least Stellaris has a starter bundle (which bit more than doubles your cost of getting the game). Next thing has been the DLC subscription, in which case you get all the DLC as long as you pay the recurring fee. Apparently there's also a season pass ongoing.
If you have some experience with the base game, the subscription might not be that bad deal. Assuming you're done with the game in few months and never return to the game. Two months worth of subscription costs about the same than the DLC:s that have bit more substantial content. If you ever get back to the game later, you have to pay for the subscription again or buy the DLC that you liked. Might have to wait quite a while for the complete edition though.
Alternatively wait for a new game to release. No DLC, so you get the full experience for a bargain price. DLC will come, but if you are already busy with some other game, you might feel less temptation to even go back.
Even safer is not to buy Paradox games. Problem is though that Paradox actually makes (and publishes) pretty good games. Which explains why some people might complain about the funding model so loudly. Even worse, there are plenty of publishers that do just fine with even no DLC, so people can clearly see that there are alternatives.
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