The fantasy 4X strategy game Master of Magic was released in 1994, and after a rough start due to some serious bug problems, it did quite well on its own and is now regarded as one of the top 4X games of all time. It was eventually well received by GOG, and publisher Slitherine acquired the rights last summer.

Slitherine did not reveal what exactly they had in mind for the game, but development director Ian McNeil said at the time that we should expect something soon. And now it has: more than a quarter century after its release, "Master of Magic" has added a new DLC, "Caster of Magic."

Caster of Magic adds new spells, units, and city buildings, and improves the wizard customization and diplomacy system. It also incorporates new, more challenging AI, more difficulty levels, and more map generation options.

This DLC is actually based on the Master of Magic mod developed by Seravy, which, according to Seravy's website, is no longer available for free but will reward you for it.

"With this money, we hope to be able to continue to develop "Caster of Magic" no matter what, and ideally, the next step in development would be to create proper source code. As you already know, "Castor of Magic" was developed by hacking the executable files.

"We were able to go very far with our current approach, but at this point, the really important missing features, such as enabling more than four enemy wizards in the game or adding new content without removing the same amount of existing ones, require source code However, this will be the case in the future. Nevertheless, this is a future plan, and I will continue to patch the current Caster of Magic as long as I can.

Incidentally, Seravy's optional animated portrait of Master of Magic is not included in the DLC and will remain freely downloadable.

Master of Magic: Caster of Magic is available on GOG for $3 and on Steam for $3.