Well, we were right: the next Europa Universalis 4 DLC is, as we predicted, centered on the British Isles and the United Kingdom that arose upon it. Europa Universalis 4: Rule Britannia is launching in the near future (exact date to be announced, pricing $9.99) and will incorporate new missions and features centered on the British Isles, as well as some new global systems that even the most devout Anglophobe can enjoy.

Europa Universalis 4: Rule Britannia Will Help Britain Rule The Waves

Paradox has learned from the relatively lukewarm reception of the first Europa Universalis 4 immersion pack, the Russia-centric Third Rome. That DLC very heavily focused on Russia, and didn’t offer much for non-Russia players. Rule Britannia is different, with the new features split fairly evenly between being British Isles-centric or being global, but thematically beneficial for British players.

Here’s the official feature list:

• New British Missions: New exclusive Mission Trees for England, Scotland and Ireland, embedded in our new Europa Universalis IV mission system.
• Industrial Revolution: Highly developed provinces may produce coal in the late game, fueling higher productivity and greater wealth.
• Innovativeness: Earn rewards for being the first nation to unlock new knowledge, including lower power costs.
• Naval Doctrine: Adopt a general strategy for your fleets, giving you bonuses to ship maintenance, trade power or battle performance.
• Anglicanism: A new Protestant faith can appear in England with new bonuses and religious choices.
• Knowledge Sharing: Help your lagging allies or subjects by promoting the spread of institutions in their realms.
• Trade Steering: Force your defeated enemies to have their merchants fill your coffers.

As we’ve reported on previously, the introduction of the Anglican church in particular is a big deal, as the first new Reformation sect added since the game first launched (and technically, the first since at least EU3). The new denomination will, of course, allow for easy royal divorces. It will also give Anglican players a discount when growing development and a bonus to the growth of Innovation, a new system that awards points whenever you’re the first nation to discover a technology or embrace an idea. These points can reduce overall power point cost, among other bonuses.

The Industrial Revolution, which will be a new feature available to all nations, is of course a particular boost to Britain: after all, Great Britain is essentially the first major homeland of industrialization, and industrialism helped transform Britain from second-fiddle to France into the greatest empire the world has ever known. Now, Britain’s bountiful coal resources will do the same thing in Europa Universalis.

And in case you don’t get the reference to the name, take a gander:

The British Isles have perennially been a favorite start location in Europa Universalis 4, and the new Immersion Pack should make it even more exciting. Will you be diving into Rule Britannia and building an empire on which the sun never sets?