Every Europa Universalis game, ranked
All 3 Europa Universalis games we hold, spanning 2000 to 2013: 2 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 139,276 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Europa Universalis IV (GamingPickz Score 8.0), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Europa Universalis (2000) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Europa Universalis III gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Europa Universalis games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 2 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
2 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 2 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Every game by critic score
The grid above is built from Steam data, so it can only place the Europa Universalis games that were on Steam. This one uses the Metacritic critic aggregate, which the older console-only entries have too, so the whole series lands on a single chart: critic score against release year.
On Steam (also has a GamingPickz Score) Console-only (Metacritic only)
2 best Europa Universalis games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Europa Universalis IV
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
8.0GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceEuropa Universalis IV at a glance Released 2013 Studio Development Studio Player sentiment 88% positive of 137,275 Critics 87/100 Price $49.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 88% shrinks to 88.0 on 137,275 reviews, then blends with the 87 critic aggregate, giving 8.0.
What the data supports- Cloud saves and cross-platform play, so progress follows you between machines.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
Europa Universalis III at a glance Released 2007 Studio Development Studio Player sentiment 83% positive of 2,001 Critics 83/100 Price $14.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 83% shrinks to 83.1 on 2,001 reviews, then blends with the 83 critic aggregate, giving 7.2.
Worth checking first- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
Only the 2 Europa Universalis games with Steam review data can be scored and ranked. The complete series, scored or not, is charted in order below.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Europa Universalis game we can score is Europa Universalis IV at 8.0. The lowest is Europa Universalis III at 7.2, a 0.8-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Europa Universalis III at $14.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Europa Universalis III, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Europa Universalis entries on Steam:
- Unsupported: Europa Universalis III, Europa Universalis IV
Platforms across the series
Where the 3 Europa Universalis games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 3 of 3 |
The Europa Universalis series, game by game
Every Europa Universalis game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2000
Europa Universalis
Metacritic 86Europa Universalis is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published in 2000 by Strategy First. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception The game received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . John Lee of NextGen said, "A full-bodied simulation of European turmoil and global expansion between the 15th and 18th centuries, Europa Universalis isn't all that original, but if historic realism is your passion, you'll like what you see. " Computer Games Strategy Plus gave the game acclaim while it was still in development in Europe. (Wikipedia)
- 2007
Europa Universalis III Complete includes the original Europa Universalis III as well as the expansions In Nomine and Napoleons Ambition Europa Universalis III delves deeply into the areas of exploration, trade, warfare and diplomacy. (Steam)
Reception
Reception Europa Universalis III received an 83% rating on Metacritic , indicating generally positive reviews. In a review for Eurogamer , Alec Meer gave the game a 7 out of 10, stating that it had "near unparalleled flexibility" and that it was "capable of inspiring immense self-satisfaction", while also criticising the game for its obtuse mechanics, especially the ideas system. Nicholas Bale of Game Revolution also gave a positive review, calling it… (Wikipedia)
- 2013
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. (Steam)
Reception
Reception Europa Universalis IV was met with very favourable reviews, receiving a score of 87/100 on aggregate website Metacritic . Critics praised the improvements from Europa Universalis III , especially the new mechanisms and graphics. T. (Wikipedia)
Europa Universalis, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Europa Universalis vs other series
How Europa Universalis stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Europa Universalis vs Anno, Europa Universalis vs Tropico, Europa Universalis vs Age of History, Europa Universalis vs Beholder, Europa Universalis vs Bloons TD, Europa Universalis vs Brothers in Arms, Europa Universalis vs Call to Arms, Europa Universalis vs Crusader Kings, Europa Universalis vs Day of Defeat, Europa Universalis vs Door Kickers, Europa Universalis vs Dungeons, Europa Universalis vs ENDLESS Space, Europa Universalis vs Frostpunk, Europa Universalis vs Hearts of Iron, Europa Universalis vs Insurgency, Europa Universalis vs Jurassic World Evolution, Europa Universalis vs Kingdom, Europa Universalis vs Men of War, Europa Universalis vs Overcooked, Europa Universalis vs Payday, Europa Universalis vs Poker Night, Europa Universalis vs Red Orchestra, Europa Universalis vs Soda Dungeon, Europa Universalis vs Stronghold, Europa Universalis vs Stronghold Crusader, Europa Universalis vs The Escapists, Europa Universalis vs The Sims, Europa Universalis vs Transport Fever, Europa Universalis vs Universe Sandbox, Europa Universalis vs Victoria
Common questions
How many Europa Universalis games are there?
We hold 3 Europa Universalis games in the catalogue, released between 2000 and 2013. 2 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Europa Universalis game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Europa Universalis IV rates highest at 8.0. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Europa Universalis games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2000 to 2013. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
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