Paradox Interactive have announced the release date for the latest and ambitious expansion for Europa Universalis IV.

The expansion, titled The Cossacks, will launch for the game on the first of December, and it will focus on the eponymous soldiers from the Great Steppe.

In addition to yet unknown features regarding cossacks themselves, Paradox promises improvements to the existing gameplay systems, most interesting of them allowing players more freedom in their approach to diplomacy (the option to publicly announce territorial demands and to bring other nations to your alliance by promising them some of the conquered lands), espionage (stealing technology from the more developed nations and supporting separatists within other countries) and colonization (the choice between conquest and peaceful approach). The details can be found here.

As is common practice with major expansions to Paradox games, The Cossacks will be accompanied by a free patch which allows people who bought only the base game to experience some of the added content. It is not known yet what features will be included in the patch and which will require buying the DLC.