Crusader Kings 3 developers show new features in video diary

(Image credit: Paradox Interactive)

A new developer diary for Crusader Kings 3 details some of the game’s new features and changes to important core game mechanics. Key changes to the game focus on shrinking the size of the player’s court, making the characters more relevant, and deepening the plots systems. Your councillors now have greater control of what happens in your realm, but greater impact when sent out on the job. Plots now focus on uncovering secrets about a character—discovered using your spymaster—then using those secrets as a hook to force their behavior via blackmail. There’s also a little more information about wandering characters, outlined in a written developer diary earlier this week. In short, if you don’t give someone a job, they’ll go elsewhere looking for one, as will people from other lands. Finally, a big update to the game: You can now purposefully fabricate claims, changing expansion via conquest from a roulette to a deliberate strategy.

Most of the diary’s meaty information revolves around the detailed representation of characters in the game. Aging will now be in real-time, from year to year as characters grow, and will be affected by a character’s genetics. Characters will now also wear clothing specifically tailored to their station, so when you see someone in silks and gold, yes: That’s a rich guy. Here’s the full video:

Announced earlier this year, Crusader Kings 3 is the upcoming entry in the sprawling grand strategy roleplaying game hybrid series. By far the most successful grand strategy game of the last decade, Crusader Kings 2 redefined the genre with its focus on relatable human characters over simulation and tactics. Here’s everything we know about Crusader Kings 3.

Jon Bolding is a games writer and critic with an extensive background in strategy games. When he's not on his PC, he can be found playing every tabletop game under the sun.