Look at the press releases

[Chazar]

Kristoffer O said:
Chazar: It doesn't mean much to dom2 patches. We have worked on Dom3 for a while. I hope you are not too dissatisfied with the patch releases of the Last five or six months.

No, I were certainly not dissatisfied, and with respect to that recently unburied rumour-thread, I would not expect major changes in Gameplay like another added nation within a mere patch as well. Keep those for Dom3. Bugs & Balance is of importance, as well as any features that technically enhance gameplay (like the added commander-renaming feature for ease of micromanagement, or the BattleReplays fast-forward). Nevertheless, I have no idea whether an improved message-editor would be more feasible within a patch than adding another nation...

I also assume that the announcement merely indicates that some arrangement between Illwinter and Shrapnel has been made, rather than any actual change in current work, right?