Europa Universalis 5 is blowing up on Steam, quickly climbing the sales charts and breaking concurrent player records. The franchise from Paradox Interactive has long been a major name in the grand strategy genre with a loyal cult following dating back to the early 2000s. But it's still remarkable Europa Universalis 5the sixth part of the popular series, it performs incredibly well at launch.
According to Gamalytic data, the previous installment in the franchise is estimated to have sold over five million copies and has a very positive average user rating on Steam. Released in 2013, Europa Universalis 4 it reached its all-time peak in 2020 with nearly 50,000 concurrent players. However, the latest entry broke that record just hours after launch, becoming one of the most played grand strategy games on Steam.
Europa Universalis 5 sets a new concurrent player record on Steam
Shortly after its expected release on November 4th Europa Universalis 5 set a new record for the number of concurrent players on Steam, reaching nearly 78,000 players. A grand strategy game also briefly overtook Arc Raider in the Steam sales charts, a remarkable achievement given the popularity of Embark Studios' extraction shooter. While Arc Raider soon won first place, Europa Universalis 5 at the time of writing, it remains in the top five bestsellers on Steam.
In terms of user reviews, 72% of players seem to be satisfied with the game, giving Europa Universalis 5 Very positive reviews on Steam at the time of writing. In terms of critical reception, Paradox Interactive's latest entry has an average score of 87 out of 100 on review aggregator OpenCritic, which is a remarkable achievement in itself. Most critics recommend it and consider it one of the strongest entries in the long-running grand strategy and 4X series.
One function in Europa Universalis 5 what probably increased its popularity among fans of the genre is its highly detailed depiction of the entire world map. While the previous installment also offered impressive entertainment, Europa Universalis 5 it expands to include more individual locations and points of interest, increasing immersion. Players praised developer Paradox Tinto for recreating almost the entire planet, complete with different topographies and geographic variations that enrich the gameplay experience.
It's also worth noting that Paradox Interactive's other grand strategy title, Crusader Kings 3recently popular on Steam due to the “free weekend” promotion. However, it seems that many fans of the genre are now turning their attention to the publisher's latest release, which arrived almost 12 years after its predecessor launched in 2013. It will be interesting to see in the coming days whether the new game can maintain its player base and keep the servers thriving with consistent updates.
- Released
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November 4, 2025
- Developers
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The Tinto Paradox
Source: SteamDB
