Paradox Explains EU4 Patch About Russian Conquests
Among the nations of Europa Universalis IV that will get a revision in patch 1.35 will be Russia on a conquering spree.
Paradox Interactive has put itself in a somewhat awkward position. All due to the announcement of more changes as part of an update to Europa Universalis IV, which according to some Internet users were announced at a rather unfortunate moment.
In an announcement on the official Paradox forum, the game's developers wrote of a certain neglected nation. As of 2018 (i.e. patch 1.26) it remained basically unchanged, and even then it was limited to introducing its mission tree. Therefore, the developer will focus on it in the upcoming patch 1.35.
This is good news for the players, as it happens in every title that older factions, heroes, etc. get left behind by new features introduced in subsequent years. Most Internet users rejoice at these changes (or criticize some of them - this is the Internet, after all).
There is only one small problem: the nation that Paradox wants to refine and enhance with conquest missions is the Russians. The developers made the announcement two weeks before the anniversary of the attack on Ukraine, and at a time when there were reports of Russia resuming its offensive (via CNN).
It's fair to add that the players themselves are not particularly concerned. In fact, most of those commenting on the Paradox forum are focused on gameplay or complaining about another "facelift" of Russia, instead of - for example - Belarus or Rus. Only a few posts criticize the developers for poor timing, and even this indirectly.
More critical voices can be found on Twitter, although even on this platform they seem to be in the minority. Nevertheless Eurogamer (which also contacted outraged fans) obtained a statement from Paradox Interactive on the matter.
The publisher - in addition to the obvious argument that Europa Universalis 4 is a historical game - pointed out that "revisions" of other neglected parties operating in Asia have already been announced. It would be strange, therefore, if after China, Japan and Ottoman Empire the creators left out Russia.
Paradox added that in EU4 it is only trying to "present the past with some semblance of historical accuracy." That's why they didn't pay attention to the political context when they published another entry from the developer's diary for player feedback.
