Empire of Sin announces free major 'The Precinct' content expansion, releases 'Gangster Update' patch

Empire of Sin
Empire of Sin (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

What you need to know

  • Empire of Sin is a gangster strategy simulator set in 1920's Chicago that has players take control of a mob boss.
  • Since its launch, Empire of Sin has enjoyed plenty of post-launch support with five major patch updates to date.
  • Today, Empire of Sin releases the free 'Gangster Update' patch with a number of quality-of-life improvements and fixes.
  • The first major content expansion for Empire of Sin, 'The Precinct,' was also announced today for release sometime this year.

Today is a busy day for the gangster sim Empire of Sin, which has already enjoyed an eventful life since its initial launch. Today, Paradox Interactive and Romero Games are releasing the fifth major patch update for Empire of Sin with the Gangster Update, which further improves the game with more bug fixes, changes, and more. On top of this release, Empire of Sin is also announcing its very first major content expansion coming later this year, The Precinct, and that the team is now moving forward with a ton of planned new content.

The 1.05 Gangster Update includes numerous quality-of-life improvements for Empire of Sin, including improvements to the weapon proficiency system, the game's controller scheme, and game missions on top of the usual batch of bug fixes, balancing changes, and more. The Gangster Update is rolling out now to all platforms that Empire of Sin is currently available on.

Empire Of Sin Precinct Update Screenshot (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

Empire Of Sin Precinct Update Screenshot (Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

Source: Paradox Interactive

The most exciting part of today's announcement actually comes in the form of The Precinct, which is the first major content expansion for Empire of Sin. While at least two paid premium expansions are planned for Empire of Sin in the future, The Precinct is a massive free update that's slated for release later in 2021. This also marks the team behind Empire of Sin at Romero Games shifting development away from bug fixing patch updates towards larger content releases.

The Precinct update will include:

  • New ways to win. Empire of Sin is introducing more ways to play and new ways to win with Chi-Town Mogul and The Buyout victories.
  • Precincts. Empire of Sin is massively changing up how the game is managed with Precincts, which allows players to "paint" neighborhoods they own and manage entire Precincts at once. Precincts are easier to streamline and integrate with each other, and are controlled by central depots. Players can take over depots to seize control of entire Precincts, and carefully manage the extra police attention that more prosperous Precincts will attract.
  • Phase One of Modsters. Modsters is Empire of Sin's version of modding, which will roll out in Phase One with The Precinct. Available through Paradox Mods or the Steam Workshop, players can create and play with mods in Empire of Sin using the first set of modding tools. Additional tools for modding will be added in the future.
  • The Spice of Life. The Precinct will also introduce new racket interiors to allow players additional variety in Empire of Sin.
  • Additional improvements and changes. There are countless other quality-of-life improvements and tweaks planned for Empire of Sin in The Precinct on top of the major additions listed here.

If you haven't played Empire of Sin yet, it's a fantastic gangster strategy simulator that has players take control of one of over a dozen mob bosses and take over a crime-riddled 1920's Chicago. Empire of Sin is currently available for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC, PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. In case you're not sure enough to purchase, Empire of Sin is also available through Xbox Game Pass for consoles and PC, and can even be played on the go with Xbox Cloud Gaming through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.

Empire of Sin is absolutely one of the best strategy and simulation games on Xbox. It's never been easier to try Empire of Sin now that it sits among the best games on Xbox Game Pass.

Zachary Boddy
Staff Writer

Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.