Europa Universalis V confirmed

[Solmyr]

There's also our favorite pedant's first impressions: https://acoup.blog/2025/10/31/miscellania-europa-universalis-v-confirmed-first-impressions/

[Syt]

Obligatory Spiffing Brit video (as Hanseatic League ... which I wanted to pick as my first )

[Crazy_Ivan80]

That one was funny.

[Syt]

Love the comments, though:

@mossneck4030
21 hours ago
Spiff doesn't post for a month
Me "weird"
Spiff "So EU5 is a thing"
Me "well that explains it"

@thespiffingbrit
21 hours ago
Unironically yes. This + CK3 + Anno have basically destroyed my social life... I already have over 300 hours in EU5 and 100 in anno 117... I love video games

[Syt]

Watching OPB's Teuton playthrough, and one of the event popups brought back an "old friend" of mine, Valdemar IV of Denmark.

I look forward to continuing a relationship that started over 30 years ago on C64 .... 

[Tamas]

Fine!

I have preordered. 

[Solmyr]

Same. 

[Syt]

The main worrying this is currently late game screenshots where Russia never formed (but Golden Horde is still around) or similar. Though hopefully that's more of an AI balance adjustment and not a structural or systemic issue.

[Richard Hakluyt]

There is a genuine historical question there, how contingent is the formation of Russia? Is it inevitable or a freak result or sonething in between? Those "Russian" principalities spent several centuries in a balkanised state after all 

I think for gameplay I would like it to form 1/2 or maybe 2/3 of the time. As regards how inevitable it was irl I'm really not at all sure.

[Richard Hakluyt]

One can imagine an alternative reality where "It is 1836 and Germany and Italy have still not formed!!!!"

[crazy canuck]

There is a genuine historical question there, how contingent is the formation of Russia? Is it inevitable or a freak result or sonething in between? Those "Russian" principalities spent several centuries in a balkanised state after all 

I think for gameplay I would like it to form 1/2 or maybe 2/3 of the time. As regards how inevitable it was irl I'm really not at all sure.

Good question, I am happy its formation is uncertain.

One can imagine an alternative reality where "It is 1836 and Germany and Italy have still not formed!!!!"

Bismarck and Garibaldi are not born.

[Richard Hakluyt]

My point is that, in an alternate reality, a gamer could find it unbelievable that Italy and Germany had not formed by 1836.

Now, if we take China, we actually have a number of observations. China collapses every now and then but then reforms into a single state. So the developers can code for that. But Russia, Italy and Germany (or the Iberian peninsula for that matter)...who knows?

[garbon]

It feels like we have never resolved how to approximate some historical happenings without it being on the rails. One challenge has often been that even to apporcimate the conditions that lead to improbable historical results seem to really need changing rulesets for the game as time goes on.

I wonder if EUV will advance anything anything in that department.

[Norgy]

There is a genuine historical question there, how contingent is the formation of Russia? Is it inevitable or a freak result or sonething in between? Those "Russian" principalities spent several centuries in a balkanised state after all 

I think for gameplay I would like it to form 1/2 or maybe 2/3 of the time. As regards how inevitable it was irl I'm really not at all sure.

From the AARs I have seen, so far, and with beta versions, Russia is a bit tricky. The strongest state is obviously Novgorod at the beginning, but Muscovy has potential. Taking on the Golden Horde at the beginning, it seems a bit like asking to be stack-wiped. It has been promised that the Russian states will be among those with a lot of events and special flavour, but if the AI can do that, I do not know.

I think I will break from tradition and try England first. Then, obviously, Norway.

[Syt]

It feels like we have never resolved how to approximate some historical happenings without it being on the rails. One challenge has often been that even to apporcimate the conditions that lead to improbable historical results seem to really need changing rulesets for the game as time goes on.

I wonder if EUV will advance anything anything in that department.

I guess it comes down to how much you think an event or outcome was very likely to occur, even if a few factors that led to it fall away, or if it was a huge fluke. Formation of Russia, Burgundian Inheritance, England turning Anglican, etc.