Imperator: Rome

Imperator: Rome is a 2019 grand strategy wargame developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It is a spiritual successor to Europa Universalis: Rome (2008). It received generally positive reviews from critics, however development and support for the game was suspended by May 2021, though occasional patches are still released.

Gameplay

The timeline of the game spans from to and includes the period of the Wars of the Diadochi and the establishment of the Roman Empire; the map spans from the Iberian Peninsula to India.

The player takes control over a nation on the map, that occupies manageable provinces and cities. Each province is assigned different religion and culture with their own unique bonuses, appearances and dialectal diversity. The player also has control over three main resources: gold, manpower and political influence, as well as minor resources - trade goods - like various foods, materials and items, engaged in trade. Each character, presented in the game, also has three unique stats: Martial, Finesse, Charisma and Zeal, all representing their effectiveness in a certain field.

Development

The game was developed by Paradox Development Studio and directed by Johan Andersson. Formally unveiled in May 2018, the game was released on 25 April 2019 for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Imperator: Rome focuses primarily on nations and empires, with a small focus on character management similar to its chronological successor, Crusader Kings III; Andersson hoped that Paradox could make a modern sequel to Europa Universalis: Rome. As with Paradox Development Studio games from the time, Imperator: Rome was built using the Clausewitz Engine, but with the addition of new software known as "Jomini" (named after 19th century general Antoine-Henri Jomini) that allows for easier and faster creation of mods.

Development and support for the game was suspended by Paradox Interactive by May 2021. In June 2022, Paradox announced that the game would receive no further updates unless it was acquired by another studio or there was a surge in demand for the game.

On the anniversary of the game's launch in 2023, Imperator: Rome received a patch that is accessible through an open beta. However, it was stressed that this was not a revival of development on the game.

In April 2024, Paradox released the 2.0.4 "Augustus" version to the main product channel on all supported platforms. This was followed by patch 2.0.5, which was released to the beta channel in December 2024.

Downloadable content

Reception

The game received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN praised the game for its depth, "the amount of detailed, strategic stuff crammed into Imperator: Rome is equal parts impressive and daunting", while criticizing the game's user interface and tribal nations. The review also praised the game's political system, writing that the political warfare between people within nations is "a great driver of character interaction". PC Gamer described the game as "uniting systems from the most recent games" while still being "more cohesive than a 'greatest hits' compilation". Despite lower user ratings than they expected, the game's sales surpassed Paradox's expectations.