NEWS | Paradox Interactive Reveals Upcoming Releases Including Cities: Skylines II and Mechabellum

STOCKHOLM-based video game developer and publisher, Paradox Interactive, announced the upcoming release of nine titles during its Paradox Announcement Show on Monday. 

The announcements included three new full games, three expansions for existing Paradox titles, and three titles from the Paradox Arc publishing initiative. All nine titles are expected to be released in 2023, making it one of the company’s most ambitious years to date. 

The three new full games that were announced during the show include The Lamplighters League, a turn-based combat game set in an alternate 1930s from Seattle-based Harebrained Schemes; Life By You, a game from Paradox Tectonic with further details to be shared during a future announcement show on March 20, 2023; and Cities: Skylines II from Finland-based developer Colossal Order.

Additionally, Paradox Arc unveiled two new titles: Mechabellum, an auto-battler game from independent developer Game River featuring massive armies of mechs and robots; and Knights of Pen & Paper 3, a sequel to the pop-culture infused turn-based RPG series from Kyy Games.

Mechabellum is set to launch on Steam Early Access on May 11, 2023, and will feature an army customisation system and strategic placement of units on the battlefield to counter the opponent’s moves. The game also offers special abilities, such as airstrikes and crawler bots, to turn the tide of the battle.

Knights of Pen & Paper 3, released on March 7, 2023, will feature superior character creation, prestige classes, a new skill system, village-building mechanics, and enhanced graphics.

Paradox Arc further announced new expansions for some of its popular games during its annual gaming convention namely, Crusader Kings III: Tours and Tournaments, Europa Universalis IV: Domination, and Surviving the Aftermath: Rebirth along with a new expansion, Across the Obelisk: The Wolf Wars, for its deck-building RPG, which was released last year.

Crusader Kings III: Tours and Tournaments is a game that will give players the opportunity to host grand tournaments and tours in their realm. Pilgrimages to holy sites will also be included in the game, and players will have a chance to gain prestige and abilities through different activities. However, players will also face danger and risk during their journeys.

The expansion will include grand tournaments, grand tours, grand weddings, a travel system, knightly accolades, new armour designs, and new Western clothing. Tours and Tournaments will be released this spring, together with a free update that will offer new interactions for pilgrimages, feasts, hunts, and more intricate management of regency relations.

Europa Universalis IV: Domination is an expansion pack for Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy game about the rise and fall of empires from the Renaissance to the Age of Revolutions. Domination will focus on the early modern world and imperial growth, where England, France, and Spain battle for power in the New World to fuel hegemony in the Old World. The established Ottomans are confronted by a new rising power in Russia, and in Asia, the old Chinese and Japanese empires fight centuries of inertia in search of centralized authority. Domination will offer new national mission trees and features for the Ottoman Empire, China, Japan, and Russia.

Surviving the Aftermath: Rebirth will give players the chance to reshape and regrow the devastated earth through terraforming and other activities. However, players will face challenges such as natural disasters, diseases, and other threats that will impact their ability to rebuild. The expansion will include new gameplay mechanics and features to improve players' experience.

The Lamplighters League and Cities: Skylines II will have extended details and gameplay revealed separately on the same day. Life By You will announce the full details and gameplay for the title in an announcement show on March 20, 2023, on the Life By You YouTube channel.

As of now, Paradox Arc has not given specific release dates for the expansions, but fans can expect them to be available in 2023.  — Geeks Republika