Things are going pretty well for Paradox Interactive. Hearts of Iron IV sold more than 200,000 copies in two weeks, Stellaris moved 500,000 copies in just over a month, and Europa Universalis IV has now sold more than one million copies world-wide. That's not a lot compared to, say, the latest Call of Duty or Halo, but for a historical grand strategy game set in the mid-15th to early-19th century? It's enough to make a niche developer/publisher like Paradox happy—so happy that it's decided to make the new EUIV DLC Fredman's Epistles free for everyone until July 4.
“PC gaming is thriving, and we're doing incredibly well in a market that is increasingly competitive" Paradox Interactive CEO Fredrik Wester said. “Over the course of our company’s lifetime, we have remained dedicated to creating deep and challenging games for players who want experiences that will last for countless hours. The key to these successes—games that not only sell well at launch, but sell sustainably for years to come—is that we continue to provide ongoing support and development, and remain connected to our community to understand what our players want from their time with our games. The PC platform is ideal for keeping our games updated and supported, thanks to our ability to easily share updates and new expansions—and for our players to share their creative mods.”
Fredman's Epistles is not a huge bundle of content; it is, in fact, “a collection of traditional Swedish songs from the 18th century,” arranged from original works by 18th century Swedish poet and songwriter Carl Michael Bellman, added to the game's soundtrack. Paradox said the songs “provide an authentic piece of Swedish culture to Europa Universalis IV, perfect for taking on the world as a Scandinavian superpower,” which I think we can all agree is a very Paradox thing to say.
The DLC is available now on Steam, and will sell for $2 once the giveaway period is over.
