We Love It's Guide to…
Lead a nation from the late Middle Ages to the Napoleonic era through diplomacy, warfare, trade, and colonization.
Released 13 Aug 2013
Choose Any Nation
Colonize New Worlds
Steer Global Trade
Rule your land and dominate the world with unparalleled freedom, depth and historical accuracy. Write a new history of the world and build an empire for the ages.
Developed by Paradox Development Studio, Paradox Tinto · Published by Paradox Interactive









Choose from hundreds of nations and guide one across four centuries, from the late Middle Ages through the Age of Revolutions. The map, rulers, and historical events provide a starting point for campaigns that can unfold differently from history.
Expand through war, diplomacy, and colonization, or build wealth by directing trade toward your ports. Form alliances and royal marriages, manage religious and domestic pressures, and respond to events ranging from civil wars to the Reformation.
A ruler’s abilities affect the pace of national development, so monarch power must be balanced between immediate needs and long-term plans. Research unlocks new military, administrative, and trade options, while national ideas reflect a country’s legacy and ambitions; campaigns can begin at different dates within the game’s historical span.
Reviewers often enjoy the game’s deep strategy sandbox, where diplomacy, warfare, and economics combine with the choice of nation to create distinct campaigns. Many describe returning for hundreds or thousands of hours because each run can develop differently, and some praise the range of community mods. Reviews also frequently note that learning the systems takes substantial time.
Developed by Paradox Tinto, the fourth instalment of the award-winning Europa Universalis series gives you a chance to control any nation in the world and lead it through four dramatic centuries - starting from the late middle ages and culminating in the Napoleonic era. Rule your land and dominate the world with unparalleled freedom, depth and historical accuracy. Write a new history of the world and build an empire for the ages.
Europa Universalis IV includes the base game, three expansion packs and one cosmetic compilation pack.

Europa Universalis IV: Control any nation in the world across four centuries of history, writing a new history of humankind from the Age of Discovery to the Age of Revolutions. Accumulate wealth, land and prestige in a fierce competition for global dominance.
Art of War: Centered on the 30 Years War and bubbling political instability between church and state, this expansion features improved gameplay mechanics that puts warfare at the forefront of your quest for domination on the continent.
Common Sense: This expansion focuses on diplomacy and the internal development of nations. It allows you to peacefully develop your nation and build a 'tall' empire, whilst also giving you the tools to execute grand diplomacy. Game changing religious features add depth and intriguing complexity to the gameplay.
Rights of Man: This expansion adds greater depth and detail to a host of game systems. New Great Power diplomatic options give them more flexibility, monarch personality traits add more flavour to the power of the throne and there are new religious options for Coptic and Fetishist religions.
Digital Extreme Edition Upgrade Pack: This compilation pack includes mostly cosmetic content, including new unit art, event art and game music drawn from content packs inspired by Islamic, Ottoman, Central European and American History. It also includes unique events from the American Dream pack.
Start before the Renaissance on a map of the world as it was then. Choose from any of hundreds of nations and then rule up to the Age of Revolutions. Or, if you wish, start your game at any date in the span, with historical monarchs and other leaders.
Hundreds of dynamic historical events are yours to experience, from merely troubling civil wars to world changing moments like the Protestant Reformation. Discover and settle the New World, or resist European conquest.
Control the flow of trade by developing your trade power in key provinces, using ships and governmental policy to bring the wealth of the world to your own ports.
Build alliances into iron bonds, cemented by royal marriage or play a flexible hand, keeping your options open. Strike when your enemies are weak, using your armies to grab new land and new potential riches.
Your nation’s pace of development will be heavily influenced by the person on the throne. Experience rapid development under a skilled monarch only to see things slow down when a less competent heir takes over. Plan for the future by spending monarch power wisely.
Four hundred years of research into new ways of war, administration and trade are available. Unlock new weapons, new buildings and new ship types. Over time, you can embrace national ideas that represent both your historic legacy and your ambitions for the future.
From grand voyages of discovery to religious wars to revolutionary governments, the entire history of the early modern world waits for you to rewrite it in Europa Universalis IV.
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux |
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| Achievements | 373 |
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| Players | From 1 (maximum not specified) |
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| Multiplayer | Europa Universalis IV supports single-player and multiplayer. Steam lists Online PvP, Online Co-op, and Cross-Platform Multiplayer. Reviews state multiplayer works with friends or players worldwide, requires matching game versions, and uses the host's DLC for all players in that session. |
| Multiplayer & mods | Steam Workshop support is listed. Reviews mention substantial multiplayer use with mods and that recent updates improved modding support. Multiplayer compatibility may depend on version matching; the provided text does not confirm mod sync details. |
| Controller required | No |
| Demo | View demo on Steam |
| DLC / extras | 33 listed on Steam |
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| Content notices |
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| Metacritic | 87/100 View on Metacritic |
| Website | Official website |