Victoria 3 launched in 2022 without naval warfare. For a grand strategy game covering the century where Britannia ruled the waves, the US projected power across the Pacific, and Japan’s modernization turned it into a maritime empire, that omission stung. Players noticed. They complained. They kept complaining.

Three and a half years later, Paradox is finally filling the gap. The Great Wave expansion, released today, adds a ship designer with customizable vessel types, flagships to lead your fleet, gunboat diplomacy options, and ship purchase treaties that let you sell warships on the international market. The expansion also overhauls Japan with narrative content tracing the late Edo period’s collapse, the Tokugawa struggle, and Japan’s industrial scramble to compete with Western powers.

Early returns look promising. Steam reviews sit at 86% positive from 22 ratings — a small sample, but the consensus is clear. “Finally, Japan is getting the love it deserves,” wrote one player. Another pointed to the free accompanying update as the real highlight: the naval rework adds “much needed agency in naval warfare” and ties naval power directly into diplomacy and trade through a new power projection system.

And then there’s the reviewer who simply wrote: “I LOVE BOATS!!!”

Can’t argue with that energy.

The expansion costs $29.99 standalone or comes in the Volume 3 bundle at $47.97, currently #7 on Steam’s Top Sellers chart. Strong opening-day positioning for a DLC that addresses the franchise’s most glaring gap.

The bigger question: is this enough to win back the skeptics who wrote off Victoria 3 at launch? Naval warfare and a Japan rework were the two loudest community requests. The Great Wave checks both. Whether Paradox has earned back the trust — that’s what the next few months of player numbers will answer.

Sources