Future expansions.

I meant that they received a large influx of money immediately after the release of the sixth installment, so why would they spend on individual purchases?

They will spend on developing an expansion that will give them another large influx of money.

But still, it's innovative. It's like a BRAND NEW game, not a continuation.

This is a process of simplification. Changing seasons, weather, and the like could be boldly called innovation. But this... it's just nonsense. The conversion is still worth some attention.

Then they just need to pretend that they are diligently working and would release a couple of patches, but they still published a list of future patches.

Well, of course! They are working towards a great goal. They wouldn't fail to publish this list...

Yes, it's impressive, but in moderation. They didn't need stories about space marines...

No ballads about marines are needed! If the team has a good imagination, they can do a decent job even within a purely fantasy world. I already gave an example in another thread.