50 Fun Facts About Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis IV begins the day after which 1444 battle, where a crusade against the Turks was crushed?

Varna, in what is now eastern Bulgaria, saw Sultan Murad II beat a crusade led by the young king of Poland and Hungary, whose body was never recovered. The game opens the next morning, on 11 November.

Which empire begins Europa Universalis IV with just Constantinople and three provinces in Greece?

Byzantium is the last remnant of the Eastern Roman Empire, and its missions push a player to retake the old imperial lands, Italy and Rome included. Surviving the opening years beside the Ottomans is a favourite challenge.

Which dynasty rules China as its emperor when Europa Universalis IV begins in 1444?

The Ming start out as Emperor of China, but a rival who defeats them and claims the Mandate of Heaven can strip the title away. By 1444 their great treasure voyages have stopped and the court has turned inward.

A Europa Universalis IV achievement has Kilwa own Zanzibar and Bombay, the boyhood homes of which rock singer?

Freddie Mercury was born in Zanzibar and grew up in Bombay, so the achievement puns on his band Queen and its icon copies one of his stage poses. Kilwa already owns Zanzibar; the hard part is reaching India.

Which city, home to Paradox Interactive, is fittingly province number one in Europa Universalis IV's game files?

Stockholm is province ID 1, so leaving the province search box empty makes the map jump straight to the developers' home city. Later expansions were made in Spain, after a new Barcelona studio took over the game in 2020.

Which Swedish metal band, known for songs about history, had five tracks added to Europa Universalis IV in 2015?

Sabaton arrived as a music pack in December 2015, and a second Sabaton pack came with Paradox's Hearts of Iron IV, released on the anniversary of D-Day the following June.

Which Europa Universalis IV expansion launched in 2021 as the worst-rated title on Steam, buried under bug reports?

Leviathan drew only 7% positive reviews at launch as players listed bugs and unfinished features. Its title comes from Hobbes's book on government, and it was meant to reward small, highly developed nations.

Which Europa Universalis IV mode takes saving out of the player's hands and is the only way to earn achievements?

Ironman also locks settings such as difficulty, so a botched war or a lost heir can never be undone by reloading an earlier save.

Which rising counter threatens Europa Universalis IV's Aztecs with the sacrifice of their ruling family?

Doom climbs by three points a year plus one for every province held, and at 100 the ruling family is sacrificed. Wiping out enemy armies is the most reliable way to push it back down, so the Aztecs are almost always at war.

Which banking family holds power in the republic of Florence when Europa Universalis IV begins in 1444?

The Medici had led Florence since Cosimo the Elder came back from exile in 1434, a decade before the game opens, ruling as unofficial heads of a city that still called itself a republic.

Which sultanate of former slave soldiers rules Egypt and Syria from Cairo when Europa Universalis IV begins?

The Mamluks went from slave servants to masters of the realm in 1250, and by 1444 their households hold sway over even the Abbasid Caliph himself.

Which Mediterranean island is the one-province home of the Knights Hospitaller when Europa Universalis IV begins?

Rhodes is all the Knights control in 1444, a lone island city facing far larger Muslim neighbours. Malta, the island now tied to the order's name, only became its base in the following century, after Rhodes fell.

Which empire, known to its own people as Tawantinsuyu, can the Andean kingdom of Cusco form in Europa Universalis IV?

Inca is the natural goal for Cusco, which the game makes the easiest start in the Andes by giving it high development and an outstanding ruler. Once formed, it has no serious rival until Europeans arrive.

Which empire in Europa Universalis IV starts 1444 under the ageing Shah Rukh, son of the conqueror Tamerlane?

The Timurids still hold the Persian heartland, but every son and grandson has spent his life waiting for the old emperor to die. His court at Herat is meanwhile a thriving centre of learning and the arts.

Which kingdom joins Castile in a personal union through the Iberian Wedding event in Europa Universalis IV?

Aragon enters the union as the junior partner, and the event can fire between 1450 and 1530 once one crown has a male ruler and the other a female ruler or a regency.

Which city, the former Adrianople, is the Ottoman capital when Europa Universalis IV begins in 1444?

Edirne served as the sultans' capital from the 1360s until 1453, and in the game a decision moves the court to Constantinople once that city has been taken.

Which nation, led by a Habsburg archduke, starts Europa Universalis IV in 1444 as Holy Roman Emperor?

Austria holds the imperial throne under Friedrich III, but an emperor only serves for life. The electors vote again at each death, so a rival prince, or the player, can take the crown away from Vienna.

Which institution in Europa Universalis IV can first appear from 1450, always in a province in Italy?

The Renaissance spreads outward from its Italian birthplace, and a nation must already have embraced Feudalism before it is allowed to embrace the newer institution.

Alongside Genoa and the English Channel, which is the third end node of trade in Europa Universalis IV?

Venice, like the other two end nodes, has nothing downstream of it, so merchants there can only collect. The routes between nodes are fixed and can never be redrawn during a campaign.

In Europa Universalis IV, what do outraged neighbours form against a nation with too much aggressive expansion?

A coalition exists to contain a shared threat: go to war with one member and all the others join in against you. Members drift away again as their anger over your expansion fades.

Which neighbour can Poland merge with in Europa Universalis IV to form the Commonwealth, replacing a personal union?

Lithuania counts Poland among its few reliable friends, and the decision that welds the two into a single Commonwealth requires administrative technology 10.

Which kingdom starts Europa Universalis IV as leader of the Kalmar Union, senior partner in two personal unions?

Denmark need only integrate its two lesser partners to hold every province required to form Scandinavia, but the Swedish nobles have just rallied behind a regent of their own.

Which empire of southern India, whose name means City of Victory, is playable from 1444 in Europa Universalis IV?

Vijayanagar emerged from the crumbling Hoysala empire when resistance to repeated invasions from the north began to fail, and the game presents it as India's most triumphant Hindu nation.

Which formable Indian empire, founded historically by Babur, assimilates whole cultures in Europa Universalis IV?

The Mughals assimilate a culture by directly owning every one of its provinces, rather than spending diplomatic power to promote it as other nations must.

Which militaristic kingdom can Brandenburg or the Teutonic Order form in Europa Universalis IV?

Prussia is also open to any nation of Saxon or Pomeranian culture, and its special governments track a militarization score all of their own.

Which small island kingdom must own the entire world for the Three Mountains achievement in Europa Universalis IV?

Ryukyu rules from Okinawa, and the achievement shares its name with one of the kingdom's national ideas. A random New World is not allowed, so every province of the real map has to be taken.

Which duchy faces an inheritance crisis in Europa Universalis IV once its starting heir Charles takes the throne?

Burgundy receives a hidden modifier that cuts its chance of a new heir by 95%, setting up the events in which Marie inherits and the Emperor demands the Lowlands.

Which emirate, the last Muslim state in Iberia, do Castile's opening missions in Europa Universalis IV target?

Granada is the goal of the Reconquista missions, after which the mission tree turns Castile toward the New World, as happened historically.

Which kingdom starts Europa Universalis IV allied to England, echoing a pact the two sealed at Windsor in 1386?

Portugal and England's pact is the oldest alliance still in force today, so a French player who attacks England early usually finds Portuguese armies joining the war too.

Which Latin phrase names the blank white patches of unexplored map in Europa Universalis IV?

Terra incognita, Latin for unknown land, is normally opened up by an army under a conquistador or a fleet under an explorer, the two leaders who can cross it and reveal it.

Which Europa Universalis IV expansion added the custom nation designer and the hunt for the Seven Cities of Gold?

El Dorado focused on Central and South America, adding the Nahuatl, Mayan and Inti religions alongside conquistadors who can march into the unknown interior.

Which first Europa Universalis IV expansion added a generator that randomises the landscape of the Americas?

Conquest of Paradise arrived in January 2014 and also deepened play as Native American nations, while the free patch released beside it introduced colonial regions.

Which of the four ages is already under way when a Europa Universalis IV campaign begins in 1444?

The Age of Discovery runs until ten years after Protestantism appears, and while it lasts the Curia's special rules stay in force and disasters such as the Castilian Civil War can strike.

Which writer's works give Europa Universalis IV two expansion titles, Common Sense and Rights of Man?

Thomas Paine's pamphlet names the 2015 expansion and his later book the 2016 one. Both packs were folded into the base game in 2024, so every player now owns their features.

In Europa Universalis IV, which penalty builds up when a nation holds conquered provinces it has not yet cored?

Overextension equals 80% of the development of every non-core province and has no cap, so its penalties keep growing well beyond the 100% mark.

Which score from 0 to 100 measures how much a subject nation in Europa Universalis IV wants its independence?

Liberty desire above 50 makes a subject disloyal: it stops paying taxes, guards only its own land in wars and readily accepts foreign support for a breakaway.

Which title can a Europa Universalis IV ruler buy for 500 ducats, pledging to protect nations of the same religion?

Defender of the Faith is open to one nation in each Christian or Muslim denomination, and fellow believers attacked by a nation of another religion call the holder to arms automatically.

Alongside the Clergy and the Nobility, which estate completes the basic trio in most Europa Universalis IV nations?

Burghers stand for a country's urban population, the artisans and merchants living inside city walls. The estates system first arrived with The Cossacks expansion and was later moved into the free base game.

Which fur-trading merchant republic in Europa Universalis IV must survive Muscovy, its real-life conqueror in 1478?

Novgorod was the first capital of the Rus before the seat moved to Kiev in 882, and it became a republic run by its boyars after rising against its prince in 1136.

Which military theorist, author of On War, gives his name to the game engine behind Europa Universalis IV?

Carl von Clausewitz lends his name to the engine that debuted with Europa Universalis III in 2007. A newer toolset layered on top of it, Jomini, honours a Swiss general of the same era.

Under which codename was Europa Universalis IV teased before Paradox announced it at Gamescom in August 2012?

Project Truman went public in August 2012 with about a year of full development already behind it, and the finished game followed exactly a year later, in August 2013.

Which alternate-history novelist contributed a story to the Europa Universalis IV anthology Paradox published in 2014?

Harry Turtledove's tale sits in a collection of short stories inspired by the game and its period, which Paradox sold as an ebook, as DLC and as a printed book.

Which Anatolian beylik in Europa Universalis IV has a flag based on the White Hand from The Lord of the Rings?

Saruhan was given the emblem because its name sits a single letter away from Saruman, the wizard whose badge the White Hand is in Tolkien's story.

Which real Arctic island names the hidden Easter-egg nation that a console command spawns in Europa Universalis IV?

Jan Mayen appears with an army 75 regiments strong and national ideas packed with bear puns. The island itself is too small and too far north to feature on the game's map.

Which animal is in the English names of Qara Qoyunlu and Aq Qoyunlu, rival Turkoman states in Europa Universalis IV?

Sheep name both: the Qara Qoyunlu were the Black Sheep Turkomans, probably after the animal painted on their flags, and their Aq Qoyunlu rivals, who broke them in 1467, were the White Sheep.

Which Paradox veteran directed Europa Universalis IV and returned to lead it at the Tinto studio from 2020?

Johan Andersson is honoured inside the game too: an event that hands the player an exceptional heir includes an option to name the child Johan.

Which Europa Universalis IV set-up option gives hidden ruler bonuses to eight AI countries, historical or random?

Lucky nations get +1 to each of their rulers' three skills, the player's own country is never picked, and achievements can only be earned with the historical list switched on.

Europa Universalis IV's Pentarchy mission needs Constantinople, Rome, Jerusalem, Alexandria and which fifth city?

Antioch completes the five great Christian cities, and bringing them all back into the Orthodox fold rewards the player by switching off the Catholic Curia's mechanics.

The Aztec triple alliance in Europa Universalis IV unites Tenochtitlan, Tlacopan and which third city-state?

Texcoco joined the other two in 1428 to overthrow the Tepanec rulers of Azcapotzalco, who had held sway over the valley of Mexico for a century.

Design talks for Europa Universalis IV began just after which final expansion for its predecessor shipped in 2010?

Divine Wind closed out Europa Universalis III in December 2010, and full development of the sequel got under way about nine months later.