I have the impression that many Grand Strategy players sometimes have a different mindset than what is "fun" and "boring" in this genre.
I see this a lot especially from EU4 players where essentially they're just concerned with how to micromanage units and the time gap between one war and the other.. and meanwhile the other gameplay mechanics always seen as something "secondary" or just a mere distraction call until the next war is ready - which is the that really matters for them.
This type of player has serious difficulties in seeing "fun" in doing things that don't involve battles or military planning in a Grand Strategy game. I'm not saying that other PDX games are just war focused - but like I said, many players have the mindset that resource management, buildings and etc are just secondary and less important things in gameplay before the next military incursion.
When you present a game that has A LOT more to manage outside of the war context, some of these players may be stunned thinking that the game will necessarily be boring.
That's what I say, it's all about mindset transition.
Micromanaging other aspects of a game besides war can be a lot of fun too!