The grand strategy role-playing series Crusader Kings has been ensnaring PC fans for years with its highly addictive mix of character-building, intrigue, conquest, and realm expansion. Now, the latest game in the series, Crusader Kings 3, will be making its way onto a new frontier: the home console. Crusader Kings 3 has received a new release date for its console release.
Paradox Interactive mostly releases games on PC, and if there are console releases of its published games, they're usually third party games. Stellaris is the only Paradox Development Studios game that is currently available on home consoles.
This morning, Paradox Interactive made an announcement that Crusader Kings 3 will be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 29. Paradox Interactive will be partnering up with Lab42 Games for the console port of Crusader Kings 3. The trailer that Paradox released shows the game in action on PlayStation 5.
Crusader Kings 3 is a unique grand strategy game since players will play as an individual person, not a specific country. This differs from typical grand strategy games, which helps give Crusader Kings a unique flavor that is unlike most other games. Players can control an emperor, who controls vast swathes of territory across the land, or as a lowly count with town mayors and church priests as their only vassals. Playthroughs of Crusader Kings have no objectives; only the goals of each player that sits down to play matter.
Normally, it would be unfeasible to make a grand strategy games for consoles due to the sheer amount of data, hotkeys, and menus to navigate that traditional controllers would struggle to keep up with. However, Crusader Kings 3 streamlined a lot of the complicated menus that its predecessor had, making a console port more plausible. Crusader Kings 3 is a much more accessible grand strategy game than most others, even some other grand strategy games that Paradox Interactive develops like Europa Univeralis 4 or Hearts of Iron 4.
Crusader Kings making an appearance on consoles is a bit of a shock, but this should allow more people to try out the grand strategy genre by playing one of the most accessible entries in the genre. Crusader Kings 3 can even scratch the itches of hardened role-playing game fans due to its focus on individual characters and their stories. Crusader Kings 3 has an expansion called Royal Court that will release on February 8 on PC.
Crusader Kings 3 is available now on PC, and will release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on March 29.