Paradox Interactive is experimenting on a subscription model that players pay monthly to access all the current DLC for its grand strategy game Europa Universalis IV.
EU IV was first released in 2013 and still receives free updates and paid DLC/expansions. On Steam right now, there are 31 individual DLCs, a total of RM722 worth of content. While these DLCs are not compulsory and multiplayer games lets everyone access the host player’s owned DLCs, for new players who just want to dabble with the game the amount of DLC that still isn’t stopping can be daunting.
In a recent patch, 1.29.4, Paradox says they are conducting “a few experiments aimed at reducing the threshold for new players to access the full EU IV experience”.
However, an official announcement on the forums of what the experiment is about has been made available – they are testing out a subscription option for all the DLC.
The idea of a subscription option is based on fan feedback- those who want to keep playing but can’t keep up with all the DLC purchases.
This will not replace the option of buying DLC like normal. Pricing is still in flux, and the offer is limited to Paradox are unsure if there is a good demand for it, which is why they wanted to test it out as an experiment. Only select players will be given the offer to buy a subscription as of now.
It’s an interesting way to solve Paradox’s DLC problem. While it is applaudable that they keep on supporting their games in the long run, it also comes with an increasingly high barrier of entry for newcomers to catch up with all the current content, and too much of an ask for veterans to keep buying the latest DLC.
Paradox are familiar with the subscription service- games like Imperator Rome, Stellaris, and EU IV are on Xbox Game Pass For PC, with the upcoming Crusader Kings III coming to the service on launch.