Europa Universalis IV official artwork and logo for the Cradle of Civilization expansion

Continuing the tradition of releasing two expansions at the same time, Paradox has just announced that Europa Universalis IV's Cradle of Civilization DLC will be coming in mid-November alongside Crusader Kings 2's Jade Dragon. The upcoming expansion will bring with it a variety of improvements to the Middle East, including new mechanics and features related to government, trade policies and religion, as well as the ability to exploit a region in order to quickly gain some cash or manpower while essentially sabotaging its future.

If you would like to learn a little bit more, as well as see what all of these new mechanics might look like in-game, I'd recommend checking out the recent Feature Breakdown video. It's a little bit on the lengthy side, but it should give you a good idea of what to expect from the Cradle of Civilization expansion. Have a look:

Screenshot of the Steam Digital Gift Card

In an announcement that I must admit comes as a massive surprise, Valve has now finally introduced digital gift cards to Steam. You would expect that the biggest and most successful digital marketplace for games would have this system up and running years ago, but apparently that was not the case. 

Still, its better to have this sort of feature arrive later than never, especially since the giant Halloween Sale has just kicked off. You can learn more about the gift cards, as well as how you can buy them yourself, over at the official website.

Papers, Please short film adaptation screencap

Papers, Please is essentially a 'bureaucracy simulator' intertwined with a story about human misery and the difficult choices one has to make in order to simply survive, let alone do any sort of good. Its not exactly a cheerful story, and the gameplay itself is intentionally terrible, yet the message Papers, Please conveys is so powerful that it became immensely popular regardless.

If you would like to see what it's all about, but you don't feel like slogging through all of the objectively tedious gameplay, you might be glad to hear that there is a short film adaptation in the works. The details are still very scarce so I can't exactly reveal much about the plot itself, but what I can show you is the recently posted teaser trailer. Give it a look, its surprisingly good at conveying the same sort of emotions as the source material:

Helldivers screenshot of combat from the PC version

Helldivers is a challenging co-op twin-stick shooter from the creators of Magicka. It features non-linear and procedurally generated levels, a variety of different weapons and enemies to use them on, a challenging difficulty system that also includes friendly fire, a solid amount of replayability, and the list goes on for a while.

If all of this sounds like something you would love to try out, you're in luck as Helldivers is currently having a free weekend. Simply head on over to Steam, click that giant green "Play Game" button, and you'll be able to vaporize aliens by the hundreds for the next two days.

F1 2017 official screenshot taken from the PC version

After already being available on Windows and Mac for a little while now, F1 2017 will finally be making its way to Linux on November 2nd. Much like the vast majority of games on Steam, if you already own one version of F1 2017 you won't have to buy the Linux version as well, it will be granted to you for free.

As for the port itself, it is being done by Feral Interactive. If the name doesn't ring a bell, you might know them from their work on the Mac and Linux ports of Total War: Warhammer 1 and 2, Dawn of War 3, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, BioShock Remastered, and so forth. Their track record so far has been exemplary, so chances are F1 2017 will be an excellent Linux port as well.

Final Fantasy XV screenshot of a busy city from the PC version

The PC version of Final Fantasy XV will be coming in early 2018 alongside all of the DLC. In terms of improvements it will bring with it a first-person mode, support for 4K resolutions and HDR 10, as well as graphical optionss that you can tweak to support resolutions up to a rather ridiculous 8K!

So if you're wondering what sort of PC you'll even need in order to run FFXV, wonder no more as the developers have now released the official PC system requirements via the Windows Store. They are unfortunately a bit shorter and less detailed than the ones Bethesda or Ubisoft like to release, but it should still give you a good idea of what to expect. Have a look:

Dragon Ball FighterZ screenshot of Goku powering up

Dragon Ball FighterZ is an upcoming 2.5D fighting game developed by Arc System Works, a studio you might know from their Blaz Blue and Guilty Gear series of fighting games. The goal behind Dragon Ball FighterZ is to bring the series back to its roots in terms of gameplay, while still being as accurate to the show as humanly possible.

Whether its going to succeed in doing just that, we'll find out soon enough as the developers have just announced that Dragon Ball FighterZ will be coming to PC and consoles this January 26th. As is the unfortunate tradition with every fighting game today, Dragon Ball FighterZ will also be releasing alongside a Season Pass that will give you access to eight additional characters at some point after launch. What exactly those characters are, however, I'm afraid nobody knows right now.

Torment: Tides of Numenera official artwork and logo

Torment: Tides of Numenera is an isomeric, story-focused RPG and a spiritual successor to one of the best games that have ever graced the genre - Planescape: Torment. While it is by no means perfect, mostly because the combat system is extremely dull and imbalanced, I still had a great deal of fun with Tides of Numenera, so if you're a fan of the genre I would say its worth giving a look.

As such, I am glad to announce that Torment: Tides of Numenera is now free to try out on Steam for the next 26 hours! Its not a lot of time for an RPG, especially not one that has this much story to go through, but it should still give you a good idea of what to expect from Tides of Numenera.

Total War: Warhammer 2 screenshot of High Elves fighting Dwarfs

For those of you that might not be familiar with the Warhammer lore, Malekith's deception essentially pitted the Dwarfs and High Elves against each other, with the end result being a war so devastating that both sides have never managed to regain the same grandeur they held once before. So what better way to show off the new Mortal Empires combined campaign than with a massive grudge match between the Dwarfs and Dark Elves!

You'll find the video right below, and while it is a little bit on the lengthy side it should give you a good idea of how the old and new units stack up against each other. Have a look, its quite an awesome battle:

Crusader Kings 2: Jade Dragon official artwork without logo

Crusader Kings 2 will soon be expanding its influence eastward with the Jade Dragon DLC. As you might imagine from the name alone, the Jade Dragon expansion will primarily focus on China, bringing with it a variety of new artifacts to collect, a Tributary system that essentially lets you suck up to the Emperor, a variety of new units and corresponding artwork, and the list goes on for a while.

If you're interested in all of the details, as well as what some of these new mechanics might look like in-game, make sure to check out the most recent Feature Breakdown video right below. It will give you a pretty damn good idea of what to expect from the Jade Dragon expansion. Have a look: