Is Crusader Kings III’s New Season Pass Just Crusader Kings IV in Disguise?

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Since its significant content expansion pack in 2022, Paradox Interactive has consistently enriched their medieval grand strategy and roleplay game, Crusader Kings III, with substantial updates that are typically considered essential DLC by the gaming community. The recent announcement of the Crusader Kings III: Chapter IV season pass signals another wave of expansions for the game, featuring a series of upcoming DLC packages, including another major expansion. Notably, the size of these DLCs is so extensive that it could almost be referred to as Crusader Kings IV, particularly given the introduction of the game’s first ever map expansion.

The “Chapter IV” season pass for Crusader Kings III consists of four different downloadable content (DLC) packs. These DLC packs will be released sequentially throughout the year, with the final expansion potentially being the largest one yet for Crusader Kings III. This new addition significantly increases the game’s map size by including Eastern Asia, offering a 30% larger playable area. It also introduces a multitude of fresh cultures to delve into and discover.

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This substantial update, titled “All Under Heaven“, marks the final DLC in our season pass and is slated for release towards the end of 2025 (Q4). Apart from the enlarged game map, this expansion broadens your role-playing experiences in Crusader Kings III with fresh bookmarks and vivid cultures. According to the Steam page, some of the alterations include:

China: The Mandate of Heaven

  • Ascend to the Hegemony, a tier above emperors, and manage the Dynastic Cycle.
  • Use the Imperial Treasury and Meritocracy systems to maintain power or exploit instability to reshape the empire.

Japan: Rise of the Shogunate

  • Lead a clan to power as Shogun, Kampaku, or Emperor.
  • Choose diplomacy or strength to unify Japan under your vision and guide the nation into a new era.

Southeast Asia: God-Kings and Empires

  • Rule as a Devaraja with the Mandala Government, uniting tributaries into temple-centered empires.
  • Pay tribute to the God King by performing Tributary Missions as a Tributary ruler, increasing favor with your subjects.
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Adding this new content significantly broadens the playable realm within Crusader Kings III, and when combined with the next massive expansion in the season pass, titled Khans of the Steppe, the game’s scale becomes truly immense.

This segment of the season pass is dedicated to enhancing the taste of ‘Crusader Kings II’, specifically by weaving the tale of Temujin (also known as Genghis Khan) and the Mongolian empire. Additionally, it includes a comprehensive set of new mechanics, choices, and flavor for using the DLC’s new factions and characters. The magnitude of new content added is similar to that added by ‘All Under Heaven’.

In addition to these significant expansions, there’s also a small downloadable content pack for additional gameplay and a cosmetic update, both rather insignificant compared to the magnitude of the other releases.

Personally, as a dedicated fan, I must say that the new additions to Crusader Kings III are nothing short of expansive and satisfying. What truly sets these additions apart is their integration within the season pass – they’re thematically connected so well that playing with just one of the major DLCs might feel somewhat incomplete without the other. This leads me to ponder: Couldn’t this have been Crusader Kings IV instead?

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Instead of offering the season pass at a discounted price of $43.99 for additional content, it seems that Paradox Interactive could have delayed the release and presented all this extra material as an expanded version of “Crusader Kings III,” complete with new events, user-friendly updates, and potential graphical enhancements, all released together at once as a fresh Crusader Kings game.

The choice to incorporate season pass content into Crusader Kings III sparked debates among players, and could have been a factor in Paradox’s CEO resignation due to strategic disagreements several years ago. Many gamers perceive the season pass system as a method for charging them before the content has been critically evaluated, sometimes even artificially postponing content that might already be completed.

Opting to publish this content as expansions for Crusader Kings III, rather than creating an entirely new game, could appear as a strategy to minimize effort but continue charging players for what essentially amounts to a full-scale game. Given the vastness of the map expansion, it’s likely that some shortcuts were taken in representing East Asia and its rich array of cultures during development.

It’s worth noting that the initial map of Crusader Kings III, which is as large and varied as East Asia in reality, seemed a bit sparse in certain areas at its release, with the Middle East and Africa appearing to have less content compared to Europe. However, even five years after its launch, the game continues to introduce more intricacy to these regions, suggesting that there’s still plenty to discover.

Although the additional content in the Crusader Kings III: Chapter IV season pass seems substantial enough for a new game, breaking it down into DLC expansions for an already five-year-old game might appear as a shortcut taken by Paradox Interactive. This observation becomes more compelling when considering the recurring delays they’ve experienced with their other projects.

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2025-03-27 00:40