That has been how Paradox worked since they discovered DLC was an option. The Crusader King games in particular have always had it bad because the new systems are so intrinsically tied to the new “content” that the “free” version always feels like an ad. Stellaris has mostly been good at that in terms of mechanics but the UX is horrible if you don’t have all DLC. Gameplay is fine but the menus do their best to make you think it isn’t.

But yeah… REALLY not a fan of the “season” model for DLCs. I understand it makes Paradox more money per game because it inherently creates FOMO. You obviously can’t wait for a discount because then you won’t get the “free” cosmetic DLC that can only be obtained as part of the season while it is active.

But the result is it makes me play less Paradox games. I love CK2/3 and Stellaris. They are all AMAZING games and I think the DLC (if you wait for a sale) is not that bad and is comparable to buying the annual cod or playing a live game with battle passes or whatever. But that works because, a steam sale pops up and I figure “Why not, let’s get the latest DLC and spend another 10 or 20 hours with this”. But once we start having the “buy this now”? It makes me a lot more aware of just how much I am likely to play the game in the next week or two and whether it makes sense to wait for the next steam sale… at which point the season pass is gone and I forever have a “0.00” priced DLC in the list that just makes me not want to buy more.