Europa Universalis IV DLC "Fredman's Epistles" is free until July 4

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.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.