So, you want to know about CK3 DLC? Crusader Kings III is the critically-acclaimed successor to Crusader Kings 2, the grand strategy game that catapulted this niche sub-genre of strategy games into the mainstream. For nearly ten years, gamers across the world delighted in murdering and/or seducing their way across medieval Europe, and if you read our Crusader Kings III review, you’ll see that the newest iteration is just as great.
But one of the reasons why CK2 was so good is that it got a lot of DLC support. And we mean a lot – just look at how much CK2 DLC there is. All of the grand strategy games that released since have followed similar models of post-release expansions, although perhaps only EU4 has put out as many packs as CK2 has. Regardless, CK3 DLC will be a thing, and if it’s a thing, it must have a guide.
We’re not far from the one year mark of Crusader Kings III’s release, so naturally there’s not much DLC to go around. In fact the first DLC pack – Northern Lords – only released in March. It’s one of three packs we’re expecting in the initial expansion pass (two minor, one major), but we don’t have a timetable for the rest of it right now. As such, this guide will be brief to start with, but we’ll keep it updated as we go along.
Crusader Kings 3 DLC
Here is the current list of known CK3 DLC:
- Crusader Kings 3: Northern Lords flavour pack
- Crusader Kings 3: Royal Court
- Crusader Kings 3 flavour pack #2
Crusader Kings 3: Northern Lords
Part of the Expansion Pass this was the first official DLC released for Crusader Kings III. It’s a minor ‘Flavour Pack’, so it doesn’t introduce any new features, but it does introduce a host of narrative and cosmetic content for characters of the Norse culture.
Related: Read our Crusader Kings 3 start guide
This ranges from new special Norse men-at-arms units, to unique Norse dynastic legacies , cultural innovations, even human sacrifices. There’s also plenty of new 3D models, such as longships, and unit assets. The event-based content can involve things like ‘Adventurer Realms’, where characters can abandon their current holdings to lead hosts in foreign lands to establish new Kingdoms.
Is it worth it?
If you like Norse characters and especially the 867 start date, then sure, but otherwise there’s little-else for you here. Buy here.
Crusader Kings 3: Royal Court
Announced at PDXCon Remixed, Royal Court is the first major expansion for Crusader Kings III. It will introduce a new area to the game called the throne room. This is a visual representation of your court, bringing the medieval power fantasy to life like never before.
It’s only available to characters who hold the rank of King or Emperor, but it comes in four loose cultural flavours and can be customised, up to a point. Other features of the expansion include:
- Hold Court – a new decision event where you interact with vassals and courtiers (or your own liege) as they come seeking a royal judgment.
- Grandeur – a new metric based on showing off your wealth to impress rivals and attract guests.
- Inspired People – talented artists, craftspeople, and thinkers can work on new projects, adding treasures and artefacts to your court.
- New culture mechanics – cultures in the game can now combine to form ‘hybrid’ cultures, or you can split off from your starting identity and ‘diverge’, forming a new subculture.
These combine with some of the free changes coming in via an accompanying patch, such as the culture mechanics sitting on top of a complete (free) rework of that feature, and the artefacts combining with the return of personal inventories from CK2.
At the time of writing, Royal Court is still expected by the end of the year, but it was recently reported that it’s taking longer than originally planned.
Crusader Kings 3 Flavor Pack #2
Also part of the expansion pass, nothing is known about this pack at the moment, but you can look to the Northern Lords expansion to take a guess as to the extent of content it might add.
It will come sometime after Royal Court, but as mentioned above we don’t actually know when that expansion is coming. This is likely to be early-to-mid 2022 though, depending on how quickly the Royal Court expansion releases and the specifics of the new pack.
Crusader Kings 3 Expansion Pass
As well as all of the expansions listed above, the initial CK3 expansion pass comes with the free ‘Fashion of the Abbasid Court’ cosmetic pack that launched at the same time as the base game. It introduces some extra fashion items for North African and Middle-Eastern characters.
It’s not available to purchase separately, but you get it instantly if you buy either the expansion pass, or the ‘Royal Edition’ of Crusader Kings III.
We’ll update this guide as more CK3 DLC news is announced.
{“schema”:{“page”:{“content”:{“headline”:”Crusader Kings 3 DLC guide”,”type”:”guide”,”category”:”crusader-kings-3″},”user”:{“loginstatus”:false},”game”:{“publisher”:”Paradox Interactive”,”genre”:”Strategy Gamer”,”title”:”Crusader Kings III”,”genres”:[“Strategy Gamer”,”Simulation”,”RPG”]}}}}