Paradox thumbs its nose at history, traditional business models

Among the list of usual suspects announced at a recent press event, Paradox Interactive revealed titles like Salem, Gettysburg: Armored Warfare, Dreamlor–. Wait, hold on. Back up. Isn’t armored warfare like, you know, tanks and stuff? I see what you did there, Paradox. What gives?

“Well, everyone knows General Lee lost at Gettysburg. What this game presupposes is, maybe they had kevlar crotch guards? Oh, and tanks and zeppelins.”

Gettysburg: Armored Warfare, which is a shooter/RTS hybrid, is one of several free-to-play games in development. Dig it:

* Salem — A free-to-play crafting MMORPG title set in a mythical version of New England.
* Gettysburg: Armored Warfare — A free-to-play FPS/ RTS hybrid. The game is set during an alternate version of the Civil War and includes tanks, zeppelins, a wide variety of firearms and much more.
* Hearts of Iron: The Card Game — A browser-based, free-to-play digital collectable card game based on the Hearts of Iron franchise.
* Dreamlords: Resurrection — A free-to-play Massively Multiplayer Online Real-Time Strategy (MMORTS) game.

Is it silly to be psyched about a Hearts of Iron CCG? I know it’s fashionable to think WWII is played out, but I love accessible new gameplay approaches like Petroglyph’s Panzer General on Xbox Live Arcade. When my opponent taps Hitler to keep his Panzer Division from retreating, I’m totally going to play my Atom Bomb card for ten points of damage. GG, Germany.