Paradox Claims Performance and Optimization Remain Stable Despite Crusader Kings 3’s Massive Expansion

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We’re just weeks away from the release of “All Under Heaven,” the latest expansion for Crusader Kings 3!

The latest expansion is quite large, needing around 20 gigabytes of storage space, according to its Steam page.

The update features a significantly expanded map with new countries and many exciting additions. However, it also brings up some worries about how well the game runs and how efficiently it uses computer resources.

Luckily, Paradox Interactive assures us that everything is running smoothly and has been optimized for performance.

In a recent update, technical lead Joel Hansson announced they’ve dramatically improved the game’s performance. It now runs much closer to the speed players will experience in the final released version, exceeding their initial performance goals.

Paradox has been heavily invested in developing the expansion, to the point where they almost overlooked the long-awaited Coronations Event Pack.

The next expansion is a chance for the developers to prove to players that Crusader Kings 3 is still a top-tier grand strategy game.

How Stable and Optimize is All Under Heaven’s Performance

Hansson says adding the ‘All Under Heaven’ content has made the game 30 to 40 percent larger. Because of this significant expansion, players are understandably concerned about how well the game will run.

According to a developer diary, the ‘All Under Heaven’ addition expands the game’s playable area and number of characters by 30 to 40%. The development team worked on speeding up the game’s processing to ensure it runs similarly to the current version of Crusader Kings 3, according to Hansson.

The performance data came from a variety of computers, ranging from less powerful to very powerful models. He explained that they achieved speeds similar to what users are currently experiencing in the live version.

When he said “comparable,” he was explaining that the game begins at a relaxed pace, but quickly becomes faster and more intense as it progresses.

Your experience with All Under Heaven will depend on the game world you build and the one the simulation generates. We know performance varies between different games, computer setups, and how people play, so our goal was to create a game that’s fun, runs smoothly, and is fast for everyone.

So, Hansson was chatting about all the tech stuff they’ve been improving. If you’re really curious about the details, they posted a full dev diary you can check out.

Jimmy Selling, the technical director at Paradox’s Studio Black, said they’ve updated the minimum computer specs needed to play their games after looking at how the games perform.

He said that after a lot of work to improve performance, they’ve fixed almost all of the speed issues that occurred during the initial stages of development.

The team realized their previously stated minimum CPU requirement – the Intel i3-2120 – is now too old and needs updating.

To make sure the game runs well for all players, the minimum computer specifications have been updated. You’ll now need at least an Intel i5-750 or AMD FX-4300 processor, and 8GB of RAM.

All Under Heaven releases on October 29. 2025.

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2025-10-15 23:37