Crusader Kings III has finally been announced

It was bound to happen sooner rather than later. After being around for seven years, Paradox Interactive’s flagship title Crusader Kings II will finally have a follow-up. That’s right. Crusader Kings III has been announced at PDXCON 2019. Check out the trailer below:

Crusader Kings III: An Heir is Born

The Crusader Kings III trailer starts off in a typical fashion that many veteran players would be familiar with. Your character has just been blessed with an heir. All your hopes and your dreams are riding on this tiny, innocent child. An empire that will be forged through war and the blood of countless soldiers. A marriage that will prove to have major political ramifications. All the endless possibilities lay before you and this infant.

But, as the Crusader Kings games have taught us, you can’t just put all your eggs in one basket. Or cradle, if you prefer. An assassin leaves a serpent with your baby before the narrator tells you that “real strategy requires cunning.” And, just like that, you’re without an heir and you’d probably end up staring at the game over screen. Congrats, you’re now a Babenberger.

Crusader Kings III: The waiting game

There were very few screenshots that were made available given that Crusader Kings III is still under development. We’ve included a couple below.

First up, here’s part of southern England at around 1067 A.D. You’ll notice the graphical and visual upgrades as well as your leader’s portrait at the bottom left corner:

We’ve yet to see how much of the world will be included in Crusader Kings III‘s base game. It’s worth noting that Crusader Kings II launched with only Europe and parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Additional DLC eventually added parts of Central Africa, Central Asia, India, and the Himalayan region right next to China.

This next image will show you what seems to be a skill tree for your characters:

This looks vastly different from Crusader Kings II‘s system of events and decisions, with your tutors and life focus leading you down a certain path. An actual skill tree and possible perks that can be unlocked would, more than likely, increase that roleplaying factor that many fans love. It’s definitely one of the more intriguing additions in the upcoming title.

Crusader Kings III is expected to launch sometime in 2020. You can wishlist the game now via Steam. It’ll also be made available for the Xbox Game Pass for PC. We’ll definitely update you with more details as they’re announced by Paradox Interactive in the coming months.

Lastly, don’t forget that you can grab Crusader Kings II which is currently free. Time to rule the world with your 52 Martial skill ruler who’s also blind, club-footed, and castrated.