A house, played for generations
Crusader Kings 3 asks you to guide one house through the Middle Ages. It is a grand strategy game and a role-playing game at the same time. You hold land, you deal with vassals, and you also play a person with a family and a stress bar.
Two verbs cover most of a session. You scheme, or you march armies. A scheme is a plot run from the intrigue menu. An army is levies, men-at-arms, and knights, sent to a war that has a cause.
The hard stop is the family itself. Produce a suitable heir and the house continues under a new ruler. Fail at that, and the line ends. The game ends with the line. That rule is in the launch note, so this overview treats it as the spine of the whole design.
Paradox's 1 Sep 2020 press release calls Crusader Kings III a grand strategy role-playing game in which you guide a house, scheming or marching armies.
The release says that if you do not produce a suitable heir, the line and the game end.
The same note points players to www.crusaderkings.com.
Where it launched
On PC, the worldwide date is Sep 1, 2020. That is the day the Paradox press release went out, the day Steam lists for app 1158310, and the day Gematsu records for PC.
Consoles came later. Gematsu lists PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series worldwide on Mar 29, 2022. Lab42 co-developed those console versions. The publisher on that page is Paradox Interactive.
The suggested retail price on launch day was 49.99 USD, 41.99 GBP, and 49.99 EUR. Keep that number as history.
As of 9 Nov 2026, the PC game is on patch 1.20.1.2, released on 21 Oct 2026. Patch 1.19 and after covers the version line since the 1.19 "Scribe" update.
Gematsu records PC worldwide on Sep 1, 2020, and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series worldwide on Mar 29, 2022, with Lab42 as the console co-developer and Paradox Interactive as the publisher.
Steam app 1158310 lists the base game release date as Sep 1, 2020.
Suggested retail on 1 Sep 2020 was 49.99 USD, 41.99 GBP, and 49.99 EUR.
What a session contains
The launch feature line is a fair map of the toys. You can start your own religion. Holy orders and crusades are in the game. Peasant revolts can hit a realm. Mercenaries can be hired. Northmen raiders are part of the pitch. Rules can be customized when you start.
None of those lines include a price list, a fervor percent, or a success chance. When this hub describes a button, it tells you to read the number on the button. The 2026 faith expansion adds more religious tools. The older loop still works, and the faith page keeps that loop.
Land outside the original map arrived with later expansions. All Under Heaven, dated Oct 28, 2025 on Steam, extends the map to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. Silk & Silver, announced for 17 Nov 2026, is the trade expansion. On 30 Oct 2026 it was not out yet.
Both 2026 expansions belong to the Chapter V pass. Chapter V and release dates lists every expansion date, from Northern Lords on 16 Mar 2021 to Silk & Silver on 17 Nov 2026.
The launch feature line includes starting your own religion, holy orders, crusades, peasant revolts, mercenaries, northmen raiders, and customizable rules.
Steam dates All Under Heaven to Oct 28, 2025. This hub uses that expansion for the map extension into China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
The years you can open
Two bookmarks shipped with the base game: 867 and 1066. Pick 1066 and look for Murchad if you want the tutorial character. Pick 867 if you want the earlier map.
Later bookmarks were added after launch, including 1178. A current unofficial patch database (ck3db, patch 1.20.1.2) lists that year. Treat 1178 as a later bookmark that exists in that file. Do not treat this page as an explanation of why the year was added.
From either original start, the first practical jobs are the same. Find an heir. Open the council. Read your succession law before you create another title of your highest rank.
By God Alone added a faith bookmark to the 867 start on 30 Sep 2026, named Fathers of the Faithful. By God Alone covers that start and the Great Schism.
Silk and Silver, announced for 17 Nov 2026, adds two bookmarks: 1066 Channels of Commerce and 1178 Guelphs and Ghibellines. The Silk and Silver guide has the date, the price, and the features.
Europa Universalis V starts in 1337, more than a century before a default CK3 campaign ends. CK3 to EU5 converter shows where the community converter stands on 9 Nov 2026.
The CK3 wiki bookmarks page records 867 and 1066 as starts that shipped with the base game, and it points new players to Petty King Murchad of Munster in 1066.
A file read for patch 1.20.1.2 on the CK3 Database lists 1178 alongside 867 and 1066. The page does not explain why 1178 was added.
Crusader Kings 3 · Beginner · Succession · Governments · Faith · Warfare · Intrigue · First century · Hybrid culture · Traditions · Partition · Men-at-arms · Domain · Dynasty · Education · Marriage · Court · Activities · Elective · Chapter V · By God Alone · Silk and Silver · Patch 1.19 · Hegemony · EU5 converter · FAQ · Sources · Items · Ark · Reichskrone · Iron Crown · Papal Tiara · Justinian · Sword
Official site: crusaderkings.com.