PC Gaming Weekly: Paradox loves single-player games
It’s fitting that our strategy game of the year comes from one of the most important publishers on the PC.
Steel Division: Normandy ’44 tops our list of the best strategy games of the year. It’s a worthy choice, and it showcases Paradox Interactive‘s approach to publishing on the PC. It came out in late May, and the Eugen Systems development team has already come out with an expansion and a slew of free content updates.
Of course, this shouldn’t surprise anyone. Paradox has a well-earned rep for supporting its games years after release. Europa Universalis IV came out in 2013, and the publisher released its 12th expansion for its grand-strategy masterpiecein November. Crusader Kings II is a year older than EU4, and it recently got its 14th expansion.
Since Steel Division hit, Eugen has included three new battlefields, six new units, two ace models, dedicated servers for multiplayer, a remastered first mission and effects, and an update that it made with the help of the community.
This doesn’t mean Steel Division will receive the same level of support. Its scope is smaller. But it’s encouraging that in this era of loot boxes and in-game transactions, publishers such as Paradox and Bethesda see the value in supporting massive single-player games’ traditional expansions.
For PC gaming coverage, send news tips to Jeff Grubb and guest post submissions to Rowan Kaiser. Please be sure to visit our PC Gaming Channel.
–Jason Wilson, GamesBeat managing editor
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