''Europa Universalis III'' is a grand strategy

video game A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

developed by

Paradox Development Studio Paradox Development Studio (PDS) is a Swedish video game developer founded in 1995. It is closely associated with its parent company and video game publisher, Paradox Interactive. It is best known for its grand strategy wargame series ''Europa U ...

and published by Paradox Interactive. The game was released for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

in January 2007, and was later ported to

Mac OS X macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

by Virtual Programming in November 2007. The player controls a nation and handles matters concerning war, diplomacy, trade, and economy. The original game without expansions starts in 1453, right after the

Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

, and continues to 1789, just past the beginning of the French Revolution. The expansion ''Napoleon's Ambition'' extends the end game year forward to 1821, whereas the expansion ''In Nomine'' moves the starting year back to 1399, making it the longest as far as gameplay time in the series thus far. ''Europa Universalis III'' was the first to use Paradox's new 3D engine, Clausewitz Engine, that required user systems to meet the Pixel Shader 2.0 specification. The map has 1,700 land and sea provinces encompassing most of the world, with 250 playable historical nations. The game also uses elements of other Paradox games such as '' Crusader Kings'', '' Victoria'', and '' Hearts of Iron II''.

Gameplay

Players begin the game by choosing what date they would like to start their campaign and which country they would like to play as. Once in game, players can shape their countries in many different ways. Forms of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

include various kingdoms,

republic A republic, based on the Latin phrase ''res publica'' ('public affair' or 'people's affair'), is a State (polity), state in which Power (social and political), political power rests with the public (people), typically through their Representat ...

s, theocracies, and tribal governments. Players can influence a nation's society and values by adjusting "sliders" such as

free trade Free trade is a trade policy that does not restrict imports or exports. In government, free trade is predominantly advocated by political parties that hold Economic liberalism, economically liberal positions, while economic nationalist politica ...

mercantilism Mercantilism is a economic nationalism, nationalist economic policy that is designed to maximize the exports and minimize the imports of an economy. It seeks to maximize the accumulation of resources within the country and use those resources ...

, and may hire court advisors such as

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

. As the game advances, players can pick "national ideas" such as Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, which give specialized bonuses. The game has over 300 playable countries, including giants like

Ming China The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, regional powers like

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

and

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

, and tiny nations like the

Maldives The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...

. Without formal victory conditions, players sometimes set goals for themselves like raising a minor

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

to world prominence. The world map includes some 1,700 provinces and sea zones. Many provinces in the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

are not owned by any country, allowing for

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

Economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

in the early modern era is simulated by

taxes A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...

and production income from provinces, as well as

trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

. National

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

s compete in "centers of trade" such as

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Lübeck Lübeck (; or ; Latin: ), officially the Hanseatic League, Hanseatic City of Lübeck (), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 220,000 inhabitants, it is the second-largest city on the German Baltic Sea, Baltic coast and the second-larg ...

, and nations focused on trading income (e.g.,

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

) enjoy significant advantages. Nations which mint too much currency, or are over-reliant on

gold mining Gold mining is the extraction of gold by mining. Historically, mining gold from Alluvium, alluvial deposits used manual separation processes, such as gold panning. The expansion of gold mining to ores that are not on the surface has led to mor ...

, are penalized by

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...

Technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

investment is important in the long run; the game does not use a '' Civ''-style tech tree, but instead has several different technology categories, which unlock new military units and buildings.

Diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

is rather detailed: royal marriages, insults, alliances, trade embargoes, and so on all affect relations between countries. Players are able to gain control over other countries peacefully through

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

s and vassalage. Early international institutions such as the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, the

Papal Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes us ...

and with the Divine Wind expansion the

Shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

are simulated in some depth. Every country has its own

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

religion Religion is a range of social system, social-cultural systems, including designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics in religion, ethics, or ...

, a frequent source of diplomatic unity or friction. Rulers have control over

armies An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

navies A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operation ...

, and mercenaries they recruit.

Combat Combat (French language, French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent Conflict (process), conflict between multiple combatants with the intent to harm the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed (Hand-to-hand combat, not usin ...

is abstract, with no direct control over battles (in contrast to the ''Total War'' games).

Military tradition Military tradition is the practices associated with the military or soldiers such as the styles of military uniform, drill, or the music of a military unit. In Europe In Europe, tradition was a principle of military culture that had evolved out ...

is necessary for recruiting good

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

s and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

s. Aggression (seizing provinces without a rightful claim) is checked by the "badboy" system of international infamy common to Paradox's games. The game is historically detailed; one can play the "grand campaign" starting in 1453 or 1399, but any date before the French Revolution (1821 with the Napoleon's Ambition expansion) is a valid starting point as well, with historical leaders and countries appropriately updated. Major events such as the

War of the League of Cambrai The War of the League of Cambrai, sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and several other names, was fought from February 1508 to December 1516 as part of the Italian Wars of 1494–1559. The main participants of the war, who fough ...

are playable this way. Often the game diverges from reality after some time in-game, with unhistorical events such as

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

colonizing

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, or Poland-Lithuania surviving to bully its neighbors. The game may be played

single-player A single-player video game is a video game where input from only one player is expected throughout the gameplay. Video games in general can feature several game modes, including single-player modes designed to be played by a single player in add ...

multiplayer A multiplayer video game is a video game in which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time, either locally on the same computing system (couch co-op), on different computing systems via a local area network, or ...

, with players controlling different countries; every non-human country is controlled by its own AI.

Development

Expansion packs

Paradox has released 4

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion, is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game, collectible card game or Miniature wargaming, miniature wargame. An expansion may introduce new rules ...

s for ''Europa Universalis III''; each one requires all the previous expansions. One version of the game, ''Europa Universalis III Complete'', includes the original game and the first two expansions. Another version, ''Europa Universalis III Chronicles'', includes the original game and all four expansions.

''Napoleon's Ambition''

An expansion pack named ''Napoleon's Ambition'' was released on 22 August 2007 via GamersGate, a digital distribution platform. The Windows version of the expansion is available as a download from GamersGate or as part of the ''Europa Universalis III Complete'' retail package, and aims to expand on EUIII with an improved interface, an enhanced trade system, expanded options, and the inclusion of more content to cover the extended time period. Virtual Programming published the ''Napoleon's Ambition'' expansion pack for

on 7 December the same year.

''In Nomine''

A second expansion titled ''In Nomine'' was released on 28 May 2008. Features include: a further extension of the game's time frame, the addition of the Byzantine Empire, a revised AI which focuses on strategic top-level goals, and completely reworked rebels with their own goals and abilities. Virtual Programming published the ''In Nomine'' expansion for Mac OS X on 18 August. The game now starts earlier, beginning in October 1399 after the

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

of Henry IV of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Because the game's time frame has been extended by 54 years, it now includes nations such as the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

and the

Jalayirids The Jalayirid Sultanate () was a dynasty of Mongol Jalayir origin, which ruled over modern-day Iraq and western Iran after the breakup of the Ilkhanate in the 1330s.Bayne Fisher, William. ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', p. 3: "From then until ...

, leaders like

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

, and events such as the end of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

. A key variation of the expansion is the ability for the player to make important decisions that will shape the future of their country. For instance, a player can choose to create the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, make

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

" worth a Mass", or institute an East Indian Trade Company. They can now implement decisions on both country and province level with the new decision system, including hundreds of different decisions depending on the situation (for example, the current state religion) and country. ''In Nomine'' also features 'rebels with a cause'. There are several types of rebels (Religious, Patriotic, Peasant...), with different goals and different abilities. For example, if patriotic rebels take control of a province, that province will suffer from 10 more years of nationalism and is more likely to defect. Other rebels include colonial rebels in your colonies determined to get representation or independence and reactionary nobles rising up to put the serfs back in their place. The players can now choose between crushing rebels using military force, negotiating with them, or leaving them and watching them enforce their demands on your country. Both ''Napoleon's Ambition'' and ''In Nomine'' are included in ''Europa Universalis III Complete''.

''Heir to the Throne''

The third expansion titled ''Heir to the Throne'' was released for Windows on 15 December 2009 and includes many features requested by members of the forum. As the title suggests, it is focused mostly on royal family dynamics. Virtual Programming published the

expansion on 24 May 2010.

''Divine Wind''

In May 2010, a poll was created on the Paradox forums by a developer in which users could vote for a new expansion. Options included expansions to ''Europa Universalis III'', '' Europa Universalis: Rome'', '' Hearts of Iron III'' and ''

Victoria II ''Victoria II'' is a grand strategy game developed by the Sweden, Swedish game company Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It was announced on August 19, 2009, and released on August 13, 2010. It is a sequel to ''Vic ...

''. With 46% of the votes, the poll was won in favour of a ''Europa Universalis III'' expansion which is to focus on the rest of the world. The new expansion is called ''Divine Wind''. It requires ''Europa Universalis III Complete'' and the expansion ''Heir to the Throne'' in order to play. The expansion pack was released on December 14, 2010. ''Divine Wind'' was published for Mac OS X by Virtual Programming on March 16, 2011.

Compilation

Released on March 22, 2011, ''Europa Universalis III: Chronicles'' bundled all four expansions with the original game. This was the first time ''Heir to the Throne'' and ''Divine Wind'' became available in retail. ''Europa Universalis III: Chronicles'' was published for Mac OS X by Virtual Programming on September 28, 2011.

Mods

Most of EU3's settings are in

plain text In computing, plain text is a loose term for data (e.g. file contents) that represent only characters of readable material but not its graphical representation nor other objects ( floating-point numbers, images, etc.). It may also include a lim ...

files that are easily changed to modify the map, historical events, etc. Some popular mods extensively change the game, adding historical flavor, fantasy scenarios, or new game mechanics.

Magna Mundi spin-off

One of the most popular mods for EU3 was ''Magna Mundi'', which aimed to add detail to the game's map and to steer the course of the alternate history portrayed by the game more towards real-world history by means of scripted events. Because of its popularity, a standalone version of ''Magna Mundi'' was planned as a spin-off game, to be developed by the mod's authors, operating as the development studio Universo Virtual, and to be published by Paradox. However, in 2012, MM was cancelled by Paradox, who cited lack of progress as well as a lack of trust in the developers as the reasons for this decision: according to a Paradox spokesman, "members within the MM team ..report to us that the project lacks active leadership". Universo Virtual, claiming to have had a game ready for release, announced legal action against Paradox. Its leader, Portuguese developer Carlos Gustavo, accused Paradox of having come up with new requirements several times during development of ''Magna Mundi''. He also claimed that Paradox did not own the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code or source, is a plain text computer program written in a programming language. A programmer writes the human readable source code to control the behavior of a computer. Since a computer, at base, only ...

licensed to him, and announced a release of what was to be ''Magna Mundi'' the game, now re-titled ''World Stage''.. However, no release date was put and the project's status remained unclear, leading to many to think that the project was finally cancelled.

Sequel

The game's sequel, '' Europa Universalis IV'', was released on August 13, 2013.

Reception

Europa Universalis III received an 83% rating on

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, indicating generally positive reviews. In a review for

Eurogamer ''Eurogamer'' is a British video game journalism website launched in 1999 alongside parent company Gamer Network. In 2008, it started in the formerly eponymous trade fair EGX (Eurogamer Expo until 2013) organised by its parent company. Fr ...

, Alec Meer gave the game a 7 out of 10, stating that it had "near unparalleled flexibility" and that it was "capable of inspiring immense self-satisfaction", while also criticising the game for its obtuse mechanics, especially the ideas system. Nicholas Bale of ''Game Revolution'' also gave a positive review, calling it "rich strategic title with a bevy of options available".

References

External links

*
Official wiki
{{DEFAULTSORT:Europa Universalis Iii 2007 video games Age of Discovery video games Government simulation video games Grand strategy video games MacOS games Action-adventure games Paradox Interactive games Real-time strategy video games Video game sequels Video games set in the 15th century Video games set in the 16th century Video games set in the 17th century Video games set in the 18th century Video games set in the Russian Empire Windows games Video games developed in Sweden Multiplayer and single-player video games Europa Universalis Cultural depictions of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Cultural depictions of Henry IV of England Cultural depictions of Timur