Europa Universalis 5 borrows the best parts from Paradox's grand strategy giants

Europa Universalis 5 is real, and it's arriving this November. Twelve years on from the launch of EU4, its sequel is finally coming over the horizon, and it's taking some big steps forward for the series. It's fair to say that Paradox Interactive has some of the grand strategy genre's greatest champions under its belt, and it's drawing on those to help make its next game even stronger. At Gamescom 2025, we spoke with EU5's associate game director and art director David Horler about what the newest entry learns from Paradox's extensive catalog.

I still can't quite believe how quickly the Europa Universalis 5 release date snuck up on us, but it's now just over two months away. One of Paradox's big talking points for the new game is the decision to move Europa Universalis 5 further away from the origin point of the series, the Philippe Thibaut board game of the same name. Horler tells us, "We think that the best way to represent this era of history is through a more accurate representation, and the only way we can do that is through more depth, through more simulation."

The developer has a lot of success stories to pull ideas from - its repertoire includes many of the best grand strategy games around. "We're always learning from all the games we're making at Paradox," Horler remarks. "Since we made EU4, we've also made Imperator [Rome], we've made Crusader Kings 3, we've made Victoria 3. Imperator we've taken a lot from that very, very successful battle system and the way the terrain works, which makes it much more interesting to show how important supply is, and food is, for armies.

"From Crusader Kings, we've taken some elements of the character system," Horler continues. "They're more in depth, with more personalities of individuals and how they interact; we're more about, 'How can this character conserve the state? Will they be a general? Will they be a ruler or a cabinet minister?'"

With Victoria 3, Horler says the team has looked at "more production and trade-focused" elements. "That was a side of EU4 that was always a little bit underdeveloped. So we've really worked hard on this one to make it much more engaging. So now you can play as a trading nation, stay within your borders, and still have a lot of fun without expanding militarily."

As for Paradox's place in the wider strategy game space, Horler is confident that Europa Universalis 5 will be a reaffirmation of the studio's reputation. "EU4 is the flagship grand strategy game. This is the moment where we are showing everyone what we can do. We are the best grand strategy developer in the world, and we're proving it."

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Additional reporting at Gamescom by Lauren Bergin.