Crusader Kings III

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Digital download

$52

-76%

$12.47

About

Crusader Kings III for PC is a grand strategy game, albeit with many role-playing game (RPG) elements, that is set in the middle ages. It covers civilisations that run from the Viking age to the Fall of Byzantium, and offers the player two start dates: 867AD or 1066AD. The game, like its two predecessors, is based on national dynastic interplay but rooted in almost entirely in character. How to Begin? The previous iteration of the game was universally agreed to be one of the most complicated...

Installation:

How to activate your game

Developer:

Paradox Development Studio,

Publisher:

Paradox Interactive,

Release date:

31 August 2020

Genre:

RPG, Simulation, Strategy,

Recent Steam reviews:

Very positive (849)

All Steam reviews:

Very positive (74718)

User tags*: GeForce Now Steam Deck playable strategy medieval grand strategy simulation rpg historical management character customization life sim rts sandbox choices matter war economy political 4x moddable real-time with pause ...

Editions

Standard Edition

Crusader Kings III

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Starter Edition

Crusader Kings III
Crusader Kings III: Elegance of the Empire
Crusader Kings III: Fashion of the Abbasid Court
Crusader Kings III: Friends & Foes
Crusader Kings III: Garments of the Holy Roman Empire
Crusader Kings III: Tours & Tournaments

1 more

Royal Edition

Crusader Kings III
Crusader Kings III: Fashion of the Abbasid Court
Crusader Kings III: Royal Court
Crusader Kings III: Northern Lords
Crusader Kings III: Flavor Pack 2

0 more

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Crusader Kings III: Wandering Nobles

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Crusader Kings III: Legends of the Dead

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$21.08 $15.80

Crusader Kings III: Legacy of Persia

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$13.70 $9.21

Crusader Kings III: Friends & Foes

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$5.26 $2.59

Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia

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$13.70 $4.21

Crusader Kings III: Royal Court

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$31.62 $15.69

Crusader Kings III: Northern Lords

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$13.70 $3.89

Crusader Kings III: Expansion Pass

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Crusader Kings III: Chapter III

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Crusader Kings III Content Creator Pack: North African Attire

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Crusader Kings III: Chapter II

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Crusader Kings III: Wards & Wardens

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Visuals

Game features

Single-player

Online PvP

Steam Achievements

Steam Trading Cards

Steam Cloud

Remote Play on Tablet

Family Sharing

Description

How to Begin?

The previous iteration of the game was universally agreed to be one of the most complicated games and came with little in the way of a tutorial. This version is much more user friendly, and there is an island nation, based on Ireland but called by popular demand ‘Newbie Island’, which serves as a tutorial base.

There are also ‘tooltips’ which lead into a rabbit-hole of information in which you click on one topic, highlight a word you want to understand further opening another info-sheet, on which there are yet more words or tooltips to explore. The UI (user interface) of the tips is as user friendly as possible, which is just as well as it houses a huge amount of data, which can seem daunting when you are chasing an answer that you need!
It is reassuring that it is there when you need though! And, there is little that the database does not have buried somewhere within its depths, so you can find the answers to all possible questions (and probably some impossible ones too!) with a little searching.

Customise your Characters

The fully rendered 3D characters that you are playing with in this game are a huge improvement to the last one, and there are some developments that take it up a level into the almost fabulous. Your characters will age over time, showing the results of too much stress, too much wine and food, battle scars form part of their look and their hair will slowly grey or go thin. They can also pass on their features to their children.

This sounds like a small thing and remarkably obvious, but seeing the result of your brunette beauty mixed with Nordic muscle adds to the realism and authenticity of the game’s narrative. One thing that this genetic accuracy can do too, is pass along the effects of incest. So if your dynastic family decides to go full GoT by keeping it all in the family, their desirable traits will slowly warp, over a generation or two into disability and distortion.

When picking out your first characters, you will find that they come with a fairly detailed psyche already, but to save time they are given a pithy epithet that encapsulates their core character, so you can grab a ‘plucky optimist’ alongside a ‘depressed scribe’ without ending up with characters at odds with the actions you want them to take.

The personalities and quirks of the characters are tremendously important to the overall gameplay: it is amazing how a character can influence such huge national reactions!

Features of the Game

The main overarching purpose of the game is to expand your empire as far as possible, and to paint the map in your empire’s colours. And what a map it is! On the surface a beautifully authentic ‘hand-drawn’ looking chart, but zooming in brings out ever more details about the area you are looking at, to an almost insane level of detail. The terrain is diverse and interesting, each region has geological quirks and there are special buildings to explore too!

All that map exploration comes in handy as you train and supply your army, before sending them off to achieve your aims in lands as yet unknown. Keep a few loyal soldiers around your court though, to protect your empire and family – or to protect you from your family!

Cultural traits are important and you can customise these, as well as coming up with your own religion if you are not impressed with any of those on offer in the game! However – do not go too wild with blood-thirsty and savage behaviour, even if it is the law of your theocracy that five slaves must be sacrificed on a Friday morning!

Stress in this game is a literal killer, and it builds up in each character each time they go out of their comfort zone. Even the most vicious king needs to show mercy occasionally to keep their stress levels down, while betraying friends, committing acts of disloyalty or treason can upset good characters and so on.

Some moral choices seem bad either way: should you agree to sleep with your son, or just have him killed rather than risk the hit to your stress? Will that not stress you out in turn? You can, however, make naked Wednesdays a thing without worrying about the stress – hopefully, you’ll all be laughing too much for the stress levels to be impacted at all!

Career Paths to Success

There are five career paths to success and some of them can open unexpected doors for you:

Diplomacy – the art of sweet-talking people into going along with your ideas

Intrigue – spying on the enemy, schmoozing with them, and then betraying them for the glory of your own empire. Winning!

Warfare – the straightforward world of combat

Learning – study old documents, secret arts and new skills – and perhaps present your own candidate for the throne, or yourself, why not? You know you don’t deserve it, but they don’t…

Stewardship – looking after kings and their families is an excellent way to discover all the hidden places and secrets of court! Then use them – carefully, watch out for that stress! – to spin things to your own advantage!

This is a long and in-depth game – not for when you have an hour to kill! You can rack up literally hundreds of hours of play time: but you will still not be bored and be finding new things to try even after your empire is into its third or fourth generation!

Crusader Kings III for PC is available for purchase on Instant Gaming for a fraction of its retail price. You will receive an official key and be able to play the game in seconds. Play smart. Pay less.

Configurations

minimum*

OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
Processor: Intel Core i3-2120 / AMD FX 6350
Memory: 6 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 (2GB) / AMD Radeon HD 7870 (2GB) / Intel Iris Pro 580 / Intel Iris Plus G7 / AMD Radeon Vega 11
Storage: 8 GB available space

recommended*

OS: Windows 10 Home 64 bit
Processor: Intel Core i5-4670K / AMD Ryzen 5 2400G
Memory: 8 GB RAM
Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 (4GB) / AMD Radeon R9 390X (8GB)
Storage: 8 GB available space

Game's latest news

Crusader Kings 3 will receive its Tours and Tournaments expansion on May 11th

Announced last March, the DLC for the strategy game by Paradox Interactive has just found a release date. Indeed, Crusader Kings 3: Tours and Tournaments will arrive on May 11, 2023. The expansion will be sold for about thirty euros and will offer a whole series of new features to discover. This additional…

Crusader Kings III is soon getting an expansion called Tours and Tournaments

There will be something new in the third installment of Crusader Kings! Indeed, Paradox Interactive has officially announced the upcoming release of a new expansion. Entitled Tours and Tournaments, it will allow our rulers to meet their subjects across the kingdom. It will also be possible to take part…

Paradox Interactive will announce three new games on March 6th

The Paradox Announcement Show will take place on March 6th at 6 pm (Paris time). In partnership with Xbox, the publisher will take advantage of this event to announce three different games. Behind these projects, we will find the studios Colossal Order, Harebrained Schemes, and Paradox Tectonic. Finally,…

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Reviews

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Game review score based on 135 reviews, all languages included

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Best reviews

I was scared to buy this game just to try it out. I didn't want to pay what the asking price was on Steam. After grabbing it here...it was more than worth every penny. Do yourself a favor and get it.

In depth
Customizable
Hours of fun
Hard to learn
Very unforgiving game-play
Paradox loves DLC

2023-01-20T16:58:07-0500

10/10 game - Base gameplay is great and you can get stuck into it for ages - Only pain is 90% of the DLC is poor, no where near as good as the OG gameplay, annoyingly it does add onto the baseline game but for the price it isnt worth it - buy basegame at any price but DLC on the cheap

All good
Bad DLC

2023-11-18T21:16:21-0500

This is one of the very few strategy games that mostly depicts most of what It was like to be living in the middle ages, where a roof can come crashing down and kill your current character, not before his good heir was assassinated by god knows who, and you're left with the inbred child that's already on his death bed by age 6, that's the beauty of the game. It's not meant to be easy, but you're capable of overcoming each challenge thrown at you. The world is your playground, although unlikely you'll make it out of your liege's rule alive. This game is also extremely fun with friends, whenever they're not actively trying to exterminate your entire blood line, or "influencing" it with their horrible traits. Allies, competitors, or enemies, all have one thing in common; it's going to be a lot of fun interacting with them!

Anyways, Great game, buy with discounts, if possible buy from instant gaming, I haven't had a single issue buying any of their games, and you'll probably save a lot more time and money than waiting for steam sales.

Rule a dynasty and die at every opportunity
Conquer The World (your neighbor's lawn)
have fun with friends conquering (them) the world!
Not the best optimization, seen better
Multiplayer system can use a rework
Paradox.

2023-11-09T03:42:00-0500

Great game, but what a time thief - hard to put down! Recommended for all strategy fans, it has a massive role-play potential too. Super enjoyable and fun. The random events and flavour texts are super creative, glorious to see the bizarre outcomes. Failure is part of the journey!

2023-05-08T10:27:04-0400

one of the best grand strategy games out there. complex like all paradox (strategy) games and with great dlcs so far. not easy to learn all the mechanics but you get in to it quickly with the tutorial mission or just try and error

2023-04-24T15:37:05-0400

Recent reviews

It is what it is.

All in family.
Make it out with your mom.
Find out, that your cousins rule most of nations around.

2024-11-07T14:17:19-0500

Masterpiece!

2024-10-21T11:51:46-0400

all round great game , has a bit of a learning curve but is incredibly fun when you get the hang of it .

in depth gameplay
many hours to sink into it
learning curve
complicated mechanics
not new player friendly

2024-06-28T16:55:45-0400

Hyper fixated on the game in the beginning and grinded really hard, also player with a friend but I think it need a lot of patience or not using the full potential of the game (speed running tricks or something) to play a round till the end

Cool game mechanics
Boring after a while

2024-01-28T16:17:32-0500

Very nice Game! It is a lot of fun even after hundreds of hours. You're very free in designing your houses and kingdoms. Sometimes the battles seem unfair or unlogical, so the way bigger army looses. But still a very nice game, there are a lot of mods and DLC's.

Very strategic
Mods
creative

2023-08-07T08:27:51-0400

A gold quality strategy-history game for those who really enjoy lots of options/ - in-depth game mechanics to explore and strategize on.

Been so far hybridizing the Viking culture with france and italy, creating an empire in central europe while making the old Asatru faith which still are in mostly Scandinavia and todays Scotland my allies. Now the eastern roman empire and the weak catholic countries left trembles.

In my other campaign i now have a Kingdom in India. Trying to breed my family into dwarfs being geniuses while really messing around with a lot of options of getting more influence and land.

92/100 GREAT GAME!

2023-04-25T16:10:08-0400

One of the best strategy games from Paradox!

Well made game and a decent upgrade from Crusader Kings 2 but in my opinion they could include in the base game more content that they plan to add with future DLCs!

2023-04-24T18:16:10-0400

I love this game.

I did not know that it feels so good and it is so hard to be a king at the same time. This game helped me to thing outside the box. I mean I always thought that to be a king is just saying things and everything will be okay, but now I know it is a really hard logical thinking game. You have to plan and thing before making a move (a bit like in chess).

If you like harder, logic, simulation games try this (it is better with DLCs, but I will not think with your wallet).

Good graphics
Expensive DLCs

2023-04-07T16:04:25-0400

DLC is way too expensive, and I only played the game to access the Middle Eastern campaigns, so that's a pretty big let-down for me. I guess I wasted 16 bucks for nothing. I wish I could be refunded but I already placed in the key.

2022-10-06T22:34:49-0400

My wife and I just had our best CK3 campaign yet. We began as lowly chieftains and rose to dominate all of Eastern Europe with a magnificent empire, its borders stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, from the Caspian to the Mediterranean! We forged two glorious dynasties, all filled with perfect specimens of the human species. Our rulers were virtuous paragons of their reformed Slovianskan faith, which now spread to encompass all of the non-Christian parts of Europe. Better yet, our Ruthenian culture took all the best traditions of our Norse neighbors to the north and Greek to the south, blending with our Slavic roots to create a technological superpower of formidable military might. Kyiv, the crown jewel of our empire, was matched in its glory only by Constantinople and Cordoba, the other great cities of the world far eclipsed by our beauty and majesty.

Better yet, all Russian rulers were removed from power, their peoples relegated to the Siberian frontiers of our empire to serve as a cushion for our core territories against raiders from the steppes. It's a nice catharsis for us, as people who had to leave our home in Ukraine to seek shelter and safety this year.

Exactly as a strategy title should be, these accomplishments were the result of us learning the game's many systems and playing our best game, planning and investing in our lands and our people so we could best weather the bad rolls of the dice along the way. "Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit." This was the mantra of our rulers. As a result, each succession grew easier; civil wars became stories for the history books. Things that would once be a crisis became merely bothersome, such as viking adventurers or even crusades. Powerful vassal kingdoms and rival empires went from being existential threats to merely places on the map.

Eventually, our power became unchecked. There were essentially no threats to our empire, and no pressing matters to attend to. While others might see this as an excuse for conquest, our religion was one of peace. We invested even more into our lands, intent on creating a golden age of peace and prosperity for all our people. Our Ruthenia became a land of vast cities, high castles, and rolling wheat fields as far as the eye could see beneath the bright, blue open sky, as perfect a place to live as one could find in the middle ages. It was a joy to create.

There's no other game like Crusader Kings, and CK3 is the best version of it yet. I say this as an old-school player with nearly 500 hours in CK2, and hundreds more hours in other Paradox strategy titles across Steam and other distribution platforms. They somehow nailed making the game more accessible and attractive to new players while still having plenty of stuff to master over time. My wife always liked watching me play CK2, but the better graphics, character customization, and the lower skill floor in CK3 finally converted her into a player. Playing this game cooperatively with her is some of the most fun I've ever had playing games.

2022-10-03T19:14:07-0400

So I have around 500hrs on this game and I don't know why so many people are complaining about "bare bone mechanics" compared to CK2.

CK2 is a game from 2012 and has around 30+ expansions, so of course it would have more content than CK3

The game is great and I enjoyed every single one of my playthroughs, I have played from the base game all the way to the Fate of Iberia and it's been really fun.

2022-07-23T02:45:17-0400

game does not work for windows 11 any body who wants to buy don't. it just a money grab. if you are using windows 11 do not buy it.

(this installation package could not be opened. verify that the package exists). that's the problem you will get.

non
non
non
waste of money
does not work
learn from me and don't get it. they don't give refunds here.

2022-06-03T15:21:39-0400

Very bare-bones in comparison to CK II. The best thing this game has going for it are its ambitious overhaul mods. Glad I got it here for $21.00, and not on Steam for $40.00: a ridiculous asking price for such a diluted and empty entry in the Crusader Kings series! The formula has been largely simplified to feel more like an RPG, and less like the unique Grand Strategy game CK II was. Paradox has upgraded the graphics, lighting and other related visuals, but has somehow managed to downgrade the overall medieval, political experience in turn. In essence: this is a Skyrim vs Morrowind situation, and like with Stellaris post 1.9.1 patch, it's not a good sign.

Great modding scene.
Disappointing sequel to CK II

2022-05-20T00:18:01-0400

Cheap and code worked with no issues. I was a little suss at 1st because these sites tend to worry me a bit but this service worked right away with no issues at all. 10/10 would use service again - A New Zealand Customer

2022-04-16T02:15:01-0400

really liked it great game well made lots of good features.

just sad that there are so many dlc's buth thats because paradox.

i really recommend this game and if you want it i recommened getting it on instant gaming.

lots of replayablitiy
every game is different
to many dlc's

2022-03-26T12:59:01-0400

From my point of view it is the most complete strategy game ever. It is rich in every aspect, you can do everything. If we also add the dlc the level of costum becomes exaggeratedly fantastic. Compared to other Paradox titles, I would say that it is one of the best, moreover even without dlc it has a great maneuver unlike other titles that without dlc are incomplete.

2022-03-19T13:49:50-0400

its a very fun game to play alone or with friends, would recommend to buy with the dlc´s but if a friend has the dlc already just ask him to host the game so u can both play the game even if u dont have all the Dlc´s

can play with the dlc´s if the host has the dlc and u dont
can´t play ironman mode (aka get achivements) in online games

2022-02-26T06:30:21-0500

Le jeu est génial, c'est juste dommage que le jeu soit trop simple. De plus, malgré notre large supériorité, l'ennemi peut gagner la guerre s'il contrôle un duché complet (environ 4 comptés) de notre Empire et que nos troupes sont trop loin (à l'autre bout de l'Empire) pour arriver à temps pour se battre. On ne peut donc pas avoir un Empire trop grand et donc conquérir le monde.

tout
manque de difficultés
impossible d'avoir pour objectif de conquérir le monde entier

2022-01-29T12:16:51-0500

very tricky at first, but one of my favourite games ever.

takes a long time to understand everything and at first ur just wondering "wtf how did that happen" however as soon as you learn how everything works this is one of the best games i have ever played. the graphics are also incredible.

i have 500 hours on this game
hard to learn even the basics

2021-12-09T14:29:57-0500

The most understandable of the most detailed. To be a commander for a darling motherland causes interest in the history gaps. Disclaimer, after an hour of the game, the player's posture straightens and megalomania appears. Sitting on a gaming throne, you pronounce the names that you see for the first time. The game got a more pleasant presentation and has become easier to understand, which makes it possible to have fun and arrange a harem even for Putin.

History
Understandable
Fun
Music

2021-04-23T05:27:19-0400

Great game! This game came with a bang on the release day. I haven't played a game with almost no issues on release day for a long time! Very impressed! It runs great, has a new player friendly UI, so the tutorial is not needed. Immersion guaranteed.

2020-10-12T18:27:52-0400

I'm writing this review not because of the game, that itself is great, but because this site deceived me as a costumer. The site indicates that the DLC comes with your purchase, and it doesn't.

Worse of all, they refuse to acknowledge their mistake. So others aren't deceived. Take that as you will.

Never had any kind of issue with this site...
...until now.

2020-09-05T04:20:11-0400

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Crusader Kings III

About

Editions

Standard Edition

Starter Edition

Royal Edition

Add extensions

Crusader Kings III: Wandering Nobles

Crusader Kings III: Roads to Power

Crusader Kings III: Legends of the Dead

Crusader Kings III: Legacy of Persia

Crusader Kings III: Friends & Foes

Crusader Kings III: Fate of Iberia

Crusader Kings III: Royal Court

Crusader Kings III: Northern Lords

Crusader Kings III: Expansion Pass

Crusader Kings III: Chapter III

Crusader Kings III Content Creator Pack: North African Attire

Crusader Kings III: Chapter II

Crusader Kings III: Wards & Wardens

Crusader Kings III: Tours & Tournaments

Visuals

Game features

Description

How to Begin?

Customise your Characters

Features of the Game

Career Paths to Success

Configurations

minimum*

recommended*

Game's latest news

Crusader Kings franchise

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