Crusader Kings 3’s latest batch of major expansions invite you to choose between God and gold, with playable popes and money-grabbing republican merchants
Paradox Interactive has announced the next major expansion chapter for Crusader Kings 3, featuring two substantial DLC expansions that introduce new ruler archetypes and fundamentally rework core game systems. The two main DLCs, titled By God Alone and Silk & Silver, will significantly expand the game’s roleplaying possibilities by adding theocratic and mercantile playstyles alongside traditional feudal governance.
By God Alone, scheduled for release between July and September 2026, represents a comprehensive overhaul of the game’s religion mechanics. This expansion enables players to assume the roles of religious leaders, including playable popes and other theocratic figures, allowing for entirely new strategies centered around religious authority, divine doctrine, and ecclesiastical power. The expansion deepens the religious gameplay systems central to the medieval setting.
Silk & Silver shifts focus to economics and governance, introducing republican merchant gameplay as a counterpoint to traditional rule. This expansion allows players to control wealthy merchant republics and money-driven rulers, emphasizing commercial ventures and financial accumulation as alternative paths to power. The name itself references historical trade routes and merchant republics, suggesting a focus on commerce and economic dominion.
Together, these expansions embody a “God versus gold” design philosophy, offering players fundamentally different approaches to medieval dominion. Rather than relying on military conquest and feudal hierarchies alone, players can now experience contrasting ruling philosophies: spiritual authority through religion or material wealth through commerce. This chapter represents Paradox’s continued commitment to expanding Crusader Kings 3’s mechanical depth and replayability.