Paradox are an awfully busy studio these days, I don’t know how head honcho, Fredrik Wester keeps everyone going! They’ve recently released a new expansion for Crusader Kings II, are working on an expansion for Europa Universalis IV and are busy working on updating Hearts of Iron IV. Busy bees indeed!

The Reaper’s Due is the recently released expansion for Crusader Kings II which, oh so lovingly, brings the Black Death to the game. Of course, alongside bringing the Black Death to medieval Europe, the expansion brings with it the means to combat the plague! Hospitals and court physicians abound along with new types of execution. It all sounds frighteningly dark to me….

Over in the world of Europa Universalis, the Rights of Man has been announced which, alongside the addition of a Great Power feature, adds a bit more character to your rulers. The Great Power will allow more advanced nations to explore a wider range of diplomatic options when dealing with the smaller, more pitiful countries you have to deal with. Alongside a bevy of other additions, Rights of Man will add a bit more character to your rulers. Maybe not to the same extent as Crusader Kings, but these traits will confer bonuses or penalties to how others deal with you. Exciting!

Bringing things to the 20th Century, the Hearts of Iron team are detailing some planned changes that will form part of the Sunflower (1.2) patch. The main changes (alongside expected AI improvements) are coming with the ability to release various post-colonial states from their occupying powers. Ukraine leads the way alongside Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan while in South East Asia, you can expect to see Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia alongside Indonesia and Maylasia becoming states that you can release. Further work is planned in Asia, and in Africa and other Soviet republics that have never gained independence. It all sounds very exciting, and will add a lot of depth to the diplomatic machinations of the game.

It’s testament to the fine work Paradox are doing that they are still developing and releasing updates for some of their older games. Alongside the expansions for Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis, there are, as ever, massive free updates available for everyone. It’s a great thing to do, and I personally can’t wait to see what else they have planned for Hearts of Iron…