Some of them only play Paradox games, since they are so time-consuming there is not much place left for others if you go hardcore. But most just enjoy the continuing support (six years and counting), bug-fixing, new features added periodically in free patches (there is one with each new DLC) and the novelty of mini-expansions every few months.

I see their business model similar to a subscription-based game, like World of Warcraft. The annual fee is the cost of all the DLCs, and in exchange they get an evolving experience. Works for some.

A lot of people seem to forget that while they are DLC, they are also an interest check to see if people actually want more of the game or not, considering how long they've supported CK2 after release and how much extra stuff they've added to the game it's kind of amazing. (The full price tag on CK2 also contain customization packs as well so that adds to the price a bit but those are completely unnecessary for having fun.)

Now compare this to most of the AAA gaming companies and you'll get games getting basically shut down after a few months because people run out of good meaningful content if they're not immediate super successes and the companies don't really want to spend more money on making content for a "low/average selling" game.

So I don't personally see this as a necessarly bad thing that they're part of Paradox Interactive now, they are certainly not EA or Activision so it's much less likely that we'll just see them getting shut down like oh so many EA studios. (Dammit EA, why do you do this to the game developers I love!)

As long as they just help them with things and don't really interfere with HBS they could make some really good things in the future, I do hope we'll get more Battletech stuff since that is a series I quite enjoy to play.

So all in all, I'm ok with DLC as long as it helps the game stay alive/active and not die out.

I'm happy with both Paradox and Harebrained Schemes, love their games so I can't complain about this I think.

That said, don't expect more Shadowrun games from them. Microsoft owns that, not HB.

I definitely hope Battletech gets more DLC/Expansions at least

That is actually a really good point. I have a family member who is a train enthusiast, and he absolutely loves Train Simulator
https://store.steampowered.com/app/24010/Train_Simulator/

He has been playing that game since 2009, though he hasn't bought all of the DLCs, he has bought a ton of them over the years, and he keeps on buying them when ever he can afford to.

So, Shadowrun "Returns" as a Grand Strategy?

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Paradox = infestation of DLC + broken games + bugs, bugs and more bugs + more DLC and bugs

Who's in their right mind would support such company ?

Yeah, they used to make great games. Used to... no longer the case! :/

I predict that the next Shadowrun games will come in 15 different editions each and users who buy any of the pieces at the time when they are originally released will be shafted a year or two later when the final version comes out with all of the pieces bundled into it and at a cheaper price than the previous ones.

i'd prefer them heavily bugfixing and optimizing this huge unstable technical mess of a game FIRST before they ever dare to sell me more content !

i loved the game itself, but the whole tech issues, unoptimization + stability problem* and completely stupid inventory/savegame mismanagement and slow UI (partially because of said mismanagment) finally overcame my hardcore 30years long battleship loving and motivation
I just loved it, but by the end, it was a chore to run and play the game regardless of the cool gameplay and mechanism

(*memory leak, growing slower and slower, more and more unplayable every 10 min or so, gpu overheating and such, damnit mere clicking into dropship UI and menus)

honestly, out of the 3digits worth of game time i had on Battletech, i could safely bet that 10% of said play time was only waiting at slow unstable unresponsive game and UI or loading times...
For me, the game's technical aspect when it was released is barely beta/alpha worth so far. And i dont even know if the whole mess can ever be fixed and/or if it wouldnt be cheaper (time/money/manpower) to completely rewrite it from scratch thanx to game's sales so far + current deal with paradox

i just can't recommend this game to anyone, despite the fact i loved it

Why not? If they were OK with them releasing 3 successful Shadowrun games and 1 Battletech (which they also own), what reason do they have to not grant a license again? Just because the developer was bought by another company?