In the new installment of the franchise, religion will play a significantly larger role in the destiny of states.
The developers of the grand strategy Europa Universalis 5 have published a new development diary. This entry focuses on the mechanics tied to religion and culture.
The game features roughly three hundred religions, delivering “the most faithful depiction of religious diversity seen in the series.” Most faiths exist at the start date, while others can emerge as time progresses.
Each religion in EU5 will grant its own bonuses, impose specific restrictions, enable unique interactions, and offer customization options for the player.
Regions in EU5 are not bound to a single religion:
“The population of a region follows various religions and lives according to their tenets. That creates a more dynamic and realistic portrayal of faith. For example, a large Mediterranean city might be home to Jews, Orthodox Christians, Lutherans, Sunnis, and Catholics living side by side. Rather than a monolithic religion, cities will become colorful hubs of different beliefs, reflecting the pluralism of the Early Modern era.”
While building the culture systems, the team aimed to model the world as faithfully as possible, resulting in extremely detailed cultural representation:
“In EU5 cultures are portrayed on an unprecedented scale, totaling more than two thousand. Each culture can belong to a cultural group that reflects shared heritage or historical ties between different peoples. These groups grant opinion bonuses between cultures and make it cheaper to accept cultures from the same group with respect to the culture limit. A key nuance is that a culture can belong to multiple cultural groups simultaneously. Conversely, some cultures don’t belong to any group.”
Every nation in the game has a primary culture that represents the state’s dominant identity. However, very few states in EU5 are monocultural; most contain numerous cultural minorities present in each district:
“Each of these groups can have aspirations that differ from the primary culture and, depending on tolerance and the groups’ satisfaction, may rebel. Likewise, low tolerance can restrict members of other cultures from enlisting in the military and will hinder district integration, since converting an integrated area into a national district requires that the majority of inhabitants belong to the primary or an accepted culture.”
Europa Universalis 5 is scheduled for release on November 4, 2025.
Source: iXBT.games