Crusader Kings 3 is landing in September after an eight year wait

It’s been eight years since the release of Crusader Kings 2, but now, after a long wait, fans of the series are finally going to get a new instalment. Crusader Kings 3 is coming in just a few months time. 

Paradox Interactive announced the long-awaited release in a new cinematic trailer. It’s now available for pre-order and will be released on PC on September 1, 2020.

The trailer shows a bullied young boy evolving into a powerful king while the narrator describes the skills and “cunning” he will need to be successful. Take a look below.

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The grand-strategy series is known for its over-arching management style, letting players take control of settlements, diplomacy, military strategy and much more.

In an even shorter gameplay trailer, we got a look at Crusader Kings 3’s sleek new map, and character builds. The map stretches from the Arctic Circle to central Africa, and it all looks pretty good, though we’re keen to see how well-managed the game’s plethora of menus and tools are. Take a look at the gameplay trailer below.

A new tutorial follows the development of the kingdom of Ireland, introducing players gently to the world of Crusader Kings, which is infamous for some of its more complex and convoluted management tools.

Paradox Interactive seems to have realised that the series might have to offer an olive branch to the uninitiated in order to win over new strategy gamers – as a result, there are plenty of helpful new titbits to introduce new players, alongside the tutorial. It’s a good addition to a complex game.

The game will also benefit from the addition of Knightly characters who act as your generals on the tactical map. These characters have their own traits and personalities that will affect your armies and your ability to rule over them. This will be familiar to players of the popular Total War series, albeit without the ability to zoom in closer to a battle map and oversee the individual conflicts in minute detail. Instead, your armies will clash like two giant Harry Potter chess pieces – as is a hallmark of the series.

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That leaves time and space to really put the ‘grand’ in grand strategy. You’ll oversee a huge amount of detail across your medieval kingdom in Crusader Kings 3. As fans of the series will know, this ruler sim loves to go into detail and – thanks to the development of gaming tech in the eight years since Crusader Kings 2 – there is plenty of scope to do so. More than ever, in-fact.

We’ll be keeping our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground for more Crusader Kings 3 updates. Watch this space.

The game is available to pre-order on Steam for £41.99 – or you can pre-order the Royal Edition for £57.99.