The security of a dynasty rests in the quality of its successors. An heir should be strong. An heir should be forward thinking. Heirs should improve on the oversights of their predecessors. But the most successful heirs are those who build on an already secure foundation.

Crusader Kings III is rich with new historical content and character options, it has never been easier to wrap yourself in the ermine cloaks of power, writing your own story of castles, knights, crusades, and murder.

Guide a royal dynasty through the centuries. Claim new lands through diplomacy and marriage, or use your armies to conquer your neighbors or unite a divided realm. When swords and seduction fail, however, spies and poison may still be effective.

Crusader Kings III is a firm step in the direction of a new generation of grand strategy games, with new 3D character models and an even more detailed map. Designed to enhance the experience of Paradox veterans while being more welcoming to young squires, Crusader Kings III is a rich setting for an infinite number of new stories.

Prepare your trusty steed and rally your banners.The troubadours are ready to sing your songs. The splendor and intrigue of the Middle Ages returns in Crusader Kings III.

Court and commoners hold their breath in anticipation. Jealous rivals, thwarted in their plots, sulk in the shadows, for the glorious day is coming.

Learn new ways to unlock power and prestige in Roads to Power, the new Major Expansion from Crusader Kings III. Be a wandering mercenary, building a reputation as a fixer or outlaw, or lead a noble family in an ancient empire, using influence and intrigue to secure your place. New events, government systems, schemes and lifestyles are yours to explore.

Coming on September 24, Roads to Power is a major expansion to Crusader Kings III. It is a part of the game’s Chapter III, the Expansion Pass for 2024 that includes a free clothing pack, the Core Expansion Legends of the Dead, and an upcoming event pack emphasizing character travel.

Roads to Power introduces two new ways to engage with this world, with never-before-seen game styles. You can roam the world as a Landless Adventurer, fulfilling contracts and building up your own base of power, until you feel strong enough to claim a new kingdom for yourself and your band of followers. Or, play as a noble in the Byzantine Empire in a non-feudal system, scheming your way to the top, as you compete against other powerful families at the imperial court, using your influence to manipulate the political system in your favor, placing strong and friendly candidates in seats of power - even the throne itself.

Features of Crusader Kings III: Road to Power include:

• Administrative Government: Experience medieval rule outside of the feudal system with a new style of empire management. A web of Governors jockeys for position in the empire with intrigue and power, sometimes rewarding merit and sometimes rewarding perfidy. Only a truly skilled Emperor can keep these squabbling forces in line.
• The Family Estate: Run and manage a powerful Family Estate, the seat of your House’s power, even when you hold no other land. Construct new buildings and improvements to further your power and influence within an administrative empire.
• Influence System: Build up a character’s influence within an administrative empire to climb the rungs of bureaucracy. Raise your status in the realm and gather more power for yourself. Start as a landless noble on an estate, and compete for valuable provinces to govern before making your bid for the Purple.
• A Life of Adventure: Freely roam the map, untied to any realm or holding, going wherever the winds of fortune blow you. Fulfill contracts as a landless adventurer, even through the generations, building up a reputation of your own. Earn gold, prestige and fame travelling the globe until you decide to settle down and claim land you have earned through merit.
• Choose Successor or Caesar: Spend the influence you have gathered to determine the course of the Empire and get the successor you want, whether a royal family member, a powerful noble, a martial hero, or any other candidate you can rally the people behind. The Emperor can even opt to co-rule if the burden of the throne is too much for one person.
• New Byzantine Flavor Content: New events, monuments and activities built around the Byzantine theme, including chariot racing.
• Cosmetic Additions: A Byzantine-themed UI skin and new court fashions for your characters, new 2D event art, new on-map monuments of the Byzantine world, new on-map holding designs, and a Byzantine throne room for Royal Court sessions, among other aesthetic improvements. New music inspired by Orthodox holy chants is also included.

Crusader Kings III: Roads to Power will be available on 24 September 2024 as part of Crusader Kings III: Chapter III - which includes the Core Expansion Legends of the Dead, the Major Expansion Roads to Power and the Event Pack Wandering Nobles.

Key Features:

• Character Focused Gameplay: Every character you play or interact with has their own unique personality. Events and options in the game are largely determined by the type of person you are.
• Infinite Possibilities: Play as any noble house from Iceland to India, Finland to Central Africa over five centuries. Interact with wandering guests, stubborn children, devious spymasters and saintly holy men in an elaborate tapestry of medieval life.
• Waging War: Rally your vassals and raise your men-at-arms to besiege enemy castles or put down rebellions. Personal prowess on the battlefield can win you great honor, but strategic planning is the path to victory.
• Royal Marriages: Spread your dynastic DNA throughout the world, stamping your royal seal on the crests of kingdoms and duchies far and wide. Marry for power and raise children to press claims on new lands.
• Saints and Sinners: Keep faith with your religious leaders or perform great crimes in the interest of the state. When the going gets tough, you can always embrace a heresy or craft a new religion more in line with your character’s priorities.
• Schemes and Skulduggery: Learn the secrets of your courtiers and vassals so you can blackmail them for their support. Seduce your way into a superior’s good books, or plot the untimely demise of an unfortunate relative.
• Events Inspired By History: Experience great holy wars, peasant revolts, cadet branches of dynasties, heretics, superstition, castles, knights and wars over inheritance.
• 3D Character Portraits: Characters age and change appearance as their traits take a toll on their body. The higher the rank, the fancier the clothing.
• And much more: Holy Orders, mercenaries, pagan and Viking raiders, easily customized rule sets and a beautiful new map to play on.

Crusader Kings III is available for PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam and Xbox Game Pass) at $49.99/ £41.99/ €49.99.