Paradox Interactive Reveals Major Titles and Expansions at PDXCON 2019

PDXCON 2019 took place over the weekend and Paradox Interactive had quite the show with major announcements. The announcements included new games, content expansions and announcements on stage alongside their development partners. Some of the most anticipated titles are making a comeback in the coming years.

We have collected everything in this feature announced by Paradox Interactive over the weekend for you.

Crusader Kings 3 Announced, Launching in 2020

One of the major highlights of the event was the announcement of Crusader Kings 3. The sequel to classic Medieval Grand Strategy game is all set to launch in 2020. The game will bring back medieval conquest, intrigue, religion, and high drama back to the franchise however it also takes a brand new direction of the grand strategy games as it introduces new 3D character models and a much more detailed map.

Key features of Crusader Kings 3 include:

• Shape Your Dynasty: Guide unique characters through history, choosing lifestyles best suited to their personalities and your ambitions.
• Rewrite Medieval History: Dynasties will change and adapt to changes in family and politics, and religious beliefs are more firmly under your control.
• Build a Mighty Kingdom: Use your vassals’ fear of you as a weapon or call on familial obligations to persuade reluctant relatives to submit.
• Experience High Drama: Stranger than fiction stories leap off the screen, as characters plot against you and events push you to extremes.
• Learn as You Go: Guided advice to help newcomers navigate a rich medieval world. In-game suggestions tip you off to paths you might not have considered.
• The Usual Crusader Kings Fun: Keep a stubborn council in line, scheme against your overbearing uncle or marry the rich duchy…oops, I mean pious duke or duchess of your dreams.

Crusader Kings 3 is slated for release in 2020 on PC via Steam and Xbox Game Pass for Windows.

Surviving the Aftermath Enters Early Access Epic Games Store and Xbox Game Preview

The latest title in the publisher’s Surviving franchise, Surviving the Aftermath has been released in Early Access on Epic Games Store and Xbox Game Preview. The game is being developed by Iceflake Studios and it features post-apocalyptic colony building. The game is currently live on an early-bird price of just $19.9. The full version will be released in late 2020 on Epic Games Store, Steam, Xbox One, and PS4.

Key features of Surviving the Aftermath include:

• No Place Like Home: Build and manage a colony of survivors after a world-ending event. Construct more than 50 unique buildings to handle everything from resource collection and farming to exploration and security. Don’t forget to construct the Gate to venture into the savage world beyond your colony.
• Surviving Earth: Explore a vast procedurally generated world featuring six different biomes filled with exploitable resources, bandits, and more. Each environment has different conditions that will affect your colony’s survival. Stay vigilant: Natural disasters will put your survivors to the test.
• Survival is my Specialty: Recruit over 46 unique Specialists, each with their own skills and motivations, to manage your colony’s resources and production. Send them beyond the Gate on scientific missions, scavenger runs, and to fight bandits.
• Expect the Unexpected: Life in the aftermath requires you to make moral choices. You may not be able to control everything in your colony, but how you respond to situations and emergent events will shape the character of your new civilization.
• Mods: Surviving the Aftermath players can bring their own visions to life using Paradox Mods.

Age of Wonders: Planetfall – Revelations Expansion Announced

Paradox Interactive released Age of Wonders: Planetfall back in August 2019 and it was really amazing. If you loved the base game, you would be delighted to know that the game is getting its first expansion next month called Revelations. The next expansion will introduce the ancient Heritor Technology to the game along with brand new campaign missions and location mechanics.

Key features of Age of Wonders: Planetfall – Revelation include:

• Anomalous Sites Mechanic – Explore 30+ mysterious sites filled with traps and powerful enemies to reap unique rewards and uncover great secrets. Encounter unique choices based on each faction or Secret Technology.
• Additional Campaign Missions – Experience the awakening of the Es’teq dynasty and the rise of their Heritor descendants with 10+ hours of new content across two campaigns.
• New Secret Tech: Heritor – Use ancient Heritor technology to drain the essence of enemies, fueling the opportunity to use powerful abilities, create strong Entropy weapons, and summon new units.
  Tomb World Scenario – Challenge yourself to complete this deadly new Scenario, where Heritor enemies create an onslaught of destruction. This scenario also includes a new multiplayer questline to allow more players to join in on the action.
• ‘The Forgotten’ NPC Faction – Broken, insane, or otherwise unfit for Heritor’s utopian society, The Forgotten were never meant to be resurrected.
• Threats to Your Empire – Reapers are robotic assassins created long ago to destroy those who were friendly to the Heritor cause, but now hunt all who walk the planet. Equally deadly are the Megasow and Piglets, bio-engineered wildlife gone rabid after the fall of the Star Union, which will devour anything in sight.
• Locations, Pick-Ups, & Mechanics – Visit an Essence Gash or Es’Teq Well locations to supply new combat effects or abilities to your units. The Holopad pickup provides diplomatic rewards and additional influence over allies and enemies. Take over Imperial Defenses like the new Soul Beacon, Cluster Mine Launcher, or Firestorm Missile Silo to aid in combat
• Free Content – All players will gain the ability to take over the new Imperial Defenses, unlocking Operations that boost the combat effect of your colonies. In addition, the Orbital Relays mechanic boosts your empire’s infrastructure to allow for nearly instant unit transportation between sectors – but beware of sabotage interference by enemies!

If you purchase the Age of Wonders: Planetfall Season Pass, you will not only get all three post-launch expansions for free but also an instant reward. Revelations is slated to release on November 19, 2019, for all platforms.

BATTLETECH – Heavy Metal Expansion Announced

Paradox and Harebrained Schemes also announced a brand new expansion for BATTLETECH called Heavy Metal which celebrates the Paradox’s global community. The expansion will add eight new Mechs to the game along with a new mini-campaign and eight weapon systems to the turn-based strategy title on November 21, 2019.

Key features of BATTLETECH – Heavy Metal include:

• One Original and Seven Classic BattleMechs: Seven classic ‘Mechs from BATTLETECH’s 35-year legacy make their triumphant return along with the first completely new ‘Mech designed exclusively for this expansion. Each classic ‘Mech comes with unique equipment that reflects the flavor and lore of the original board game.
• Eight Game-changing New Weapon Systems: Eight all-new weapon systems can be utilized to destroy even the most formidable opponents in a wide variety of unique ways. The ‘Mech Mortar is the first AOE weapon in BATTLETECH and can destroy multiple units at once, while the new COIL Beam generates more energy the further the attacker travels before firing, a perfect fit for light ‘Mechs.
• New Flashpoint Mini-Campaign: Come face-to-face with two legendary characters from BATTLETECH lore – the Bounty Hunter and the Black Widow of Wolf’s Dragoons. A derelict cargo ship has drifted into the Periphery from deep space; what secrets does it contain, and who will ultimately control its mysterious payload?

Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 Delayed to 2020

Paradox Interactive also detailed that Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 will now release in 2020. Details were shared on an official blog post on the official website of the game.

Stellaris – Lithoids Species Pack and Federations Expansion Announced

Paradox Interactive also announced a brand new expansion pack and a DLC pack for Stellaris. The expansion is themed on diplomacy and is called Federations. Federations will arrive later this year however the brand new Lithoids DLC will arrive on October 24, 2019, and it brings a brand new species with it based on sapient rocks. The DLC costs $7.99 and pre-orders are now live.

Key features of Federations expansion include:

• Expanded Federations: With expanded diplomacy capabilities, players can build up the internal cohesion of their Federations and unlock powerful rewards for all members. Whether you join a Trade League, Martial Alliance, or Hegemony, membership can be extremely advantageous.
• Galactic Community: Unite the space empires with a galactic senate that can vote on a wide range of resolutions to drive legislative agendas. For example, players can pass a resolution to increase commitments to collective defense or funnel profit towards wealthy elites. Members can also sanction those who defy the community and enact a single galactic focus. Sway the senate to position yourself as a leader, trading favors and maneuvering, doing whatever it takes to gain influence among schemers.
• Origins: Each empire has a story that shapes its path. Give your civilization deeper roots with the new system of Origins. By choosing an Origin, players can flesh out their empire’s background and alter its starting conditions. Whether it’s Void Dwellers who have abandoned their homeworld to live in perpetual orbit or a society that worships and protects a powerful Tree of Life, you can lay the groundwork wisely for the seeds of your empire.
• New Constructions: Construct glorious new projects for your empire like the Juggernaut, a massive mobile starbase that provides a moveable repair base even in enemy territory, or the Mega Shipyard, a new megastructure that can churn out fleets with incredible speed. Offering both tactical advantages and a good dose of shock and/or awe, these are sure to be an asset to any space empire.

Prison Architect – Psych Ward: Warden’s Edition Expansion Announced

Prison Architect is also getting a brand new expansion next month called Psych Ward: Warden’s Edition. The expansion is slated to release on November 21, 2019 and it will bring additional content than the console release. This is the first time the expansion is releasing on PC. It will arrive as a free update for the base game.

Key features of Prison Architect – Psych Ward: Warden’s Edition include:

• Plead Insanity: Criminally insane inmates are unpredictable, require special care, and have their own Reputation traits for you to consider when building your prison. Let them co-exist with the general population or lock them away in a padded cell, how you manage their needs is up to you!
• Shrinks: Any prison holding the criminally insane needs a team of Psychiatrists and trained Orderlies to keep everything under control. These valuable prison staff can sedate rowdy prisoners or pull out the straitjackets when things get too rough.
• Doctor’s Note: Provide counseling to the criminally insane with the new Psychiatrist’s Office and new consultation Programs. Improve their sessions by upgrading the office with leather sofas, medicine cabinets, Rorschach tests, and more.
• Good Behavior: Your inmates now have a wide range of behaviors players will need to manage. They start out harmless, but if left untreated, they can turn violent or attempt to escape.
• It’s Gone Viral: Treat your regular inmates with care. Subjecting your inmates to excessive suppression or punishment can cause them to turn criminally insane.
• Extra Padding: Psych Ward: Warden’s Edition adds padded cells and padded floors along with a bundle of other new objects, floors, and wall types to customize your prison. Now you can easily build a dedicated wing for the criminally insane.
• Tools of the Trade: Additional contraband, including Adrenaline Shots, Fountain Pens (Shanks), and Gold Pocket Watches, can be stolen by your prisoners, or by you in Escape Mode.

Along with the announcement of the pc release of the expansion, Paradox and Double Eleven also teased the next expansion for Prison Architect which will arrive sometime in 2020.

By：Umair Khalid