Crusader Kings 3 expansion lets you run the Pope

Paradox Interactive will release Crusader Kings 3: By God Alone on September 30, 2026. The expansion changes religion mechanics and lets players control the Papacy. It revises tenets, adds periodic councils, creates dynamic holy sites and introduces playable theocracies.

Christianity is a particular focus. The expansion adds a persistent Situation that follows the faith’s development. The College of Cardinals returns; it is officially under papal oversight but can be influenced by secular rulers. Campaigns that start in 867 include events that can lead toward the Great Schism of 1054. Periodic Ecumenical Councils will set tenets and beliefs for Christian practice.

The tenet system now links characters’ relationships to shared faith and expected behavior. Rulers can push a religion to adopt different rites and doctrines, and characters who move too far from accepted beliefs can be declared heretics. Moral choices and sins generate stress, harm relationships and can produce remorse as characters near death.

Players can run theocracies or follow a full papal gameplay path. Characters who lead archbishoprics or the Papacy gain access to income and influence tied to church office. Monastic Holy Orders can be founded as centers of theological power that grant bonuses. Holy Sites can change as a religion evolves, affecting pilgrimages, piety and control of sacred locations. Secular rulers can place clerical puppets to install loyal clergy in church hierarchies.

By God Alone will be sold as a standalone expansion and as part of the Chapter Five pack. The standalone price is $43.99 or £36.99. Silk and Silver, the other major Chapter Five expansion focused on merchant republics and trade, is scheduled to release before the end of 2026.

Crusader Kings 3 launched in 2020 and has received multiple DLC packs since. Paradox released All Under Heaven and Khans of the Steppe last year and issued post-launch updates for those expansions.