An analysis of the marketing campaign for Europa Universalis V

Paradox Interactive is well known for their grand strategy games, that generally are focused on various historical time periods. The largest of all their series is Europa Universalis. Europa Universalis, or "EU" is a series that was originally based on the board game of the same name. The previous title EU4 was a standout release in the series. EU5 is the long awaited sequel for a game with a very passionate and dedicated fan-base. The game takes place from the start date of April 1, 1337 to the unconfirmed end date "sometime in the 19th century", which is a date extension from the previous games start date of November 11, 1444 to the end date of January 2, 1821. Paradox knows that they their fan-base is passionate about history and has leaned into this heavily in its marketing for the game. I believe this marketing has been very effective and is an excellent example of targeting you most passionate fans, and the people that will be your early adopters.

The Stage is Set 

https://youtu.be/-rsovrR_oFY

"Europa Universalis V: The Stage is Set" is the title of the announcement trailer for the for the game. The video describes the historical context of the games start date, while using game-play footage to illustrate and support the points being made. The video takes the time to narrate the historical context of the various regions of the world at the time of the games start date. It takes the time to describe specific elements like the encroaching hundred years war between France and England(Timestamp). It describes the how the Reconquista has effected Iberia, and how much of the land is still follows Sunnite Islam, and how the Emirate of Granada remains as the last Iberian Muslim state(Timestamp). It continues in this manor describing in detail the nature of the Holy Roman Empire in germany, the falling Byzantine Empire in the balkans, the fractured remains of the Ilkhanate in Persia, the waning power of the Delhi Sultanate in India, and the rebellion stirring in the Great Yuan dynasty of China. The video takes the time to illustrate that this was a period of drastic political and societal change for the entire world, and then invites the viewer to change the coarse of history by buying and playing the game. It is clear that this kind of advertising is designed to appeal to history nerds and established fans of the series. This is a common theme with EU5's marketing and I think it is much more effective than a traditional gameplay trailer. Rather than simply showing gameplay and mechanics, it creates a sense of historical significance, and make the viewer excited to change history as they see fit during this historical time of upheaval. 

 

Be Ambitious 

 "Be ambitious" is a common phrase used in the marketing of EU5 and it appears at the end of every "game feature"  video. These videos dive in depth into specific mechanics or sets of mechanics, and typically have an accompanying dev diary. The example here is the video on the trade and economic systems and its accompanying dev diary here. They describe in detail how production chains evolve as history progresses and how the player interacts with those systems. But there are also videos and dev diary's describing the mechanics for government and political systems, for diplomacy, for military management and warfare, for the dynamic population system and how pops migrate, and for the systems related to each countries religion and traditions. These videos and articles go in depth on each of the systems they describe and some of the standout features of EU5 vs their previous titles. These videos are a pretty clear example of snob appeal. The videos are very effective at building hype, by showcasing how much depth and time the developers have put into the systems of the game. Paradoxes games have a reputation of being complex and difficult to parse, and players that like that kind of complexity are attracted to their games. 

 Tales Of Ambition

https://youtu.be/qbSXDGdA22o

The tales of ambition is a set of videos that tell the tales of prominent historical figures that lived during the timeline of the game. It goes along well with the games tagline of "Be Ambitious". The videos include very little in the way of any details about the actual game, but it builds the sense of historical connection to the game has and invites the player to learn about and accompany these famous figures in the game. I think these videos are the other side of the same coin that the feature videos are. As historical dramatizations they appeal the the more casual element of paradoxes audience more than the heavily detail orientated feature videos and dev diary's. I still think the videos remain effective since as I have said. Paradoxes primary audience is history buffs, and these kinds of stories cater directly to that love of history.

 

 Conclusions

Overall the the types of games that Paradox Interactive make are niche. They require significant time investment to even learn to play, which means that they are beyond most casual gamers. Even people that consider themselves someone that takes games seriously often aren't going to be willing to put the hours in to just learn how to play the game. We can see in outside media for the game like the RPS review of the game where the reviewer, Brendan Caldwell, laments that after 45 hours of playing the game, he only managed to progress 150 years of the games 350 year timeline. He describes this complexity as "the blessing and curse of a typically dense playthrough of Europa Universalis.". Paradox knows all of this, and I think they have really focused on the consumers they know are going to be willing to put that time in. I think that overall their various methods of advertising have been interesting unique, and tailored to the audience that the game is going to appeal to.