The latest Crusader Kings III dev diary lays out some ambitious plans for the future of the grand strategy game. The diary covers ideas and concepts the development team is working on for upcoming expansions and the year ahead, and there’s a lot of exciting stuff in there for fans. In the near term, it seems as though the next Crusader Kings 3 expansion will feature a theme that has never been explored before in the series.
Game director Alexander Oltner explains in the latest dev diary that the team is planning another expansion pass, similar to the one included with the Crusader Kings 3 Royal Edition. That included the Royal Court expansion and two flavour packs, the Fate of Iberia and Northern Lords, although Oltner says this formula could change in the future as it’s “not set in stone.”
While Oltner says it’s too early to discuss specifics about the next expansion for Crusader Kings III, he does say that it’ll be an expansion focused on the roleplaying aspect of the game, and that a big part of its aim will be “reinforcing the connection between map and character.”
“The theme is not one that has been the subject of an expansion in previous iterations of [Crusader Kings],” he writes. “To make things extra clear; we’re not doing trade, imperial/byzantine mechanics, nomads, or similar this time.”
There are plenty of great details about where the team’s thinking is at with regard to some long-time player requests and anxieties. Oltner acknowledges the clamour for more Byzantine content, and lets slide that the team believes there’s no way they could do it justice with a “mere” flavour pack – instead, those updates will “more than likely” be part of a major expansion.
As for future goals, Oltner has a long list: he wants to get to imperial mechanics to make running and being part of an empire at least as much fun as being a king, there are improvements he’d like to make to the laws and religion systems, and he’d like to add a whole new system for handling the nomadic tribes of the great Steppe.
The full diary is essential reading if you’re a fan of Crusader Kings III. You also might like to check out our Crusader Kings 3 DLC guide, and our guide to the best Crusader Kings 3 starts if you’re just getting going in the fascinating world of medieval family drama.