The authors of the global strategy Europa Universalis 5 have presented a new development diary. This time they propose to consider military mechanics and see what battles will look like.
The developers are motivated by "an attempt to make a simulator in which every choice has consequences" and "war in EU5 follows a similar philosophy: armies are made up of people, logistics are vital, and the rest of the world will not stand idly by in the event of your conquests."
At the start, most powers in EU5 do not have professional armies. To participate in the numerous wars between kings and dukes, the powers will rely on militias recruited from their own population: peasants, townspeople, nobles. Since soldiers are part of the population, they will not be able to work while participating in wars:
"This also means that in the event of death on the battlefield or for other reasons, the population will be permanently reduced. And of course, if you disband the remnants of your army, the survivors will return home to their normal lives."
In general, the army is divided into four categories: infantry, cavalry, artillery, and auxiliary troops (responsible for supporting the army).
The developers have implemented a logistics simulation:
"In order to create a credible war system, the movement of your armies has become dependent on supply lines and access to resources.
Armies carry a supply of food with them, but they need to replenish it from friendly areas. This is represented as a line connecting the army to the nearest friendly area. But it is impossible to stretch this line indefinitely, and it can easily become the target of enemy armies."
Europa Universalis 5 is expected to be released on November 4, 2025.