The good news is that there are only a few months to go until the release ofEuropa Universalis 5. The bad news is that it’s probably not going to run on your PC.
Following the recently released Game of Thrones-style trailer, the game’s system requirements have been made available via theSteam Store page, and it’s fair to say that they’re pretty demanding for your average gamer.
Europa Universalis 5 is the latest inParadox Interactive’s long-standing and popular grand strategy franchise, which sits alongside the likes of Crusader Kings and Stellaris in theirimpressive catalog of games.
The studio is known for bringing unparalleled complexity and depth to the grand strategy genre, the kind where you may easily sink away a few hundred hours without even realizing it. However, the latest specs would have you thinking that you’re going to be running the latest title in the Cyberpunk or Red Dead series instead.
Melting PCs Like Aztec Gold
Although the game will undoubtedly make use of the latest technology available, the AAA requirements are somewhat surprising for a game series that largely centers aroundexpanding different coloured maps and having diplomatic discussions.
Even for its minimum requirements,Europa Universalis 5 is demanding both an i7-8700K processor (or equivalent) and a whopping 16GB of RAM. By comparison,Cyberpunk 2077’s specs only demand an i7-6700K and 12GB of RAM.
Age of Wonders 4, Paradox Interactive’s last major grand strategy release, only demands an i5-2500K and 8GB RAM for its minimum specs, whileCrusader Kings 3was even more accessible to i3 processors and required only 6GB RAM.
So what could demand so much extra memory when compared to previous titles? From the in-depth reveals we have seen so far, the only major transformation appears to be animated combatants.
Sure, the environments and map do appear more detailed than in previous titles, butit seems most plausible that the vast numbers of armies and new combat animations can likely account for the extra hardware requirements.
The game also looks set to have a larger and deeper map than ever before, with players able to control territories and nations all over the world, ranging from China and India to Europe,India, and Mesoamerica.
While Europa Universalis certainly promises a graphical leap forward from its predecessors, this might be a step too far for some gamers.The game is set to release on November 4th, 2025, and will be available initially on PC only.
