RESET THE CLOCKEvery time this question is asked, paradox find a new nation whose missions need updating and starts planning a new DLC
EU5 has not even been announced, and Project Teaser, um, Caesar, is still work in progress. There have been speculations on the forums about release date, but I don't think anyone has suggested it would be less than a year away. So, for at least one yeat, whatever money PDX gets from the EU franchise is from EU4. That should be incentive enough for them to be more active with the community on the EU4 side (I'm not complaining about activity on Project Caesar!), but somehow it does not seem to be. EU4 can still use more content and QoL, I'd very much like for them to comment on that.
I'm enthusiastic about EU5 but very cautiously so, and think we all should be. CK3 is good and I happily play it every now and then (with the three or four mods I see as being vital) yet it still feels a little bare. CK2 tho, which I've just jumped back into earlier, is still amazing by comparison. And CK3 is PDS's best received recent release - we've got to go back to 2016 and Stellaris/HoI4 for titles that were well received before that. I've loved Stellaris right thru but I know plenty didn't. I know I had to leave HoI4 to cook for four years after launch before I really enjoyed it. And I still want to love both Vic3 and Imperator yet I know I just don't ever start either of them...
CK3 is two and a half years old and has had eight DLC releases. At best EU5 will be the same for years after its release - pretty and interesting in its novelty but simple and bland in direct contrast. The longer this one cooks the better it will come out. And the longer we get ongoing support and new content for the almost impossible to surpass EU4!
If it is the last one it will be because its not profitable anymore in real terms. I have to ask myself. What is more profitable in real terms, to produce one more DLC with a small team behind dedicating all their time to it and sell like 5.000 copies, or put that small team to work on EU5, reducing the development time by a few months, selling hundreds of thousands of copies, and being able to start doing dls months earlier that will also sell tens of thousands of copies? I myself don't know but I guess we will know the answer if this is the last DLC.
After all PDX hasnt had a major release in a couple of years and I am sure they are very eager to pump those financial statements finally.
I would much rather have a game next year which has content for the top most played countries rather than having to wait 5 more years until every single tag has a piece of content.
I disagree on that, ideally I'd have a game that's 100% complete on release, with no need for DLC. Or need for bugfixes. I know I'm in the minority with that.
Yes, I've heard that before. On the other hand, Johan has said that Project Caesar aims to have at least as much content at launch as EU4 has now. That could be enough for the game's lifetime and they could move on to developing EU6, due 15 years later.That is just not realistic. Having a game with all the content you are asking for would take years and by the time of release 10 years later, the game would be updated and needing EU6. Also PDX is not gonna pay for them to develop a game for 10 years bringing no income