CK3's exclusion of merchant republics, and what it means for the late game

[Enriador]

While maritime republics will probably be added later on (in "The Republic Returns" DLC), this spells out some hints of how the economy and late game will play out.

Above POPs and naval battles, the system CK2 players probably asked the most has always been a proper economy system. We got no big news from CK3 in this regard, but considering how crucial merchant republics were for the era, we probably won't see much of an economic system at launch.

The late game is another matter. The 1300s play exactly like the 1000s in CK2, despite considerable changes in Medieval society such as:

• The Renaissance
• Gunpowder
  
• Voyages of discovery
• Mongol invasions
• Proto-Protestantism
• The Black Death
• Return of big naval warfare
• Rise of the nation-state
• Increasing political centralization
• End of the Crusader Era
• Timurid conquests

Of those, only the Mongols are properly represented with any reliability, and the Black Death lacks much momentum without economic or demographic consequences to illustrate its sheer impact.

In the Late Middle Ages (~1300-1500), merchant republics were the tip of the spear in regards to many of these achievements/events since they acted as the bridge between Christendom and the Islamic/Eastern world, carrying on their boats everything from spice to slaves, from brand-new cannons to plague-ridden rats.

I sincerely hope CK3 will pay more attention to such a fascinating period of History, even if we don't get merchant republics at launch.

And you, what do you expect to see in CK3's late game?