Paradox Interactive announced a brand new sequel to one of its most popular grand strategy series today during PDXCON 2019, with Crusader Kings III being officially confirmed for next year. No gameplay footage was revealed today but a cinematic trailer can be seen above.
The studio called this the start of a new generation of grand strategy games, introducing 3D character models, a deeper simulation, and a more detailed map, among other improvements, while keeping the usual "medieval conquest, intrigue, religion and high drama" elements intact. The new player experience should be much improved over the previous games also.
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"Crusader Kings III is a grand medieval simulator where you are free to live out any plausible ruler fantasy that we could think of - but not without challenge," said Game Director Henrik Fåhraeus. "Seeing its predecessor explode in popularity was very satisfying, especially considering that user friendliness was never our primary goal. Now we have a chance to address an even larger audience."
Crusader Kings III is coming to PC sometime in 2020, where it will be hitting both Steam and Microsoft"s Xbox Game Pass for PC subscription.
Moreover, Crusader Kings II has gone free-to-play on Steam forever as part of the PDXCON and sequel celebrations, giving everyone a good opportunity to jump into the grand strategy series.