Major changes are coming to Crusader Kings III (CK3) on consoles with the release of the game’s latest major expansion, “Roads to Power.” Developed by Room 8 Group in partnership with Paradox Interactive, “Roads to Power” greatly expands the role-playing opportunities for Crusader Kings III players on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 by adding a new government type, as well as an entirely new way for your character to experience the medieval world.
Releasing on May 11, 2026, your CK3 character can be a wandering adventurer, tied to no land, and seeking fame and fortune as a mercenary soldier or contractor performing tasks that the nobles are too busy to handle themselves. Players will be tasked with building up their camp, seeking new adventurers abroad, and maybe using their accumulated wealth and power to claim a kingdom.
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In addition to the Roads to Power release, players will also get a chance to download CK3’s latest event pack. titled “Wandering Nobles,” a new collection of events that are themed around travel. Have new adventures on the road as you make your way on pilgrimage or while you trek across the kingdom to visit your subjects.
What is CK3’s “Roads to Power” Expansion?
Roads to Power also opens up the Bureaucratic Empire government, based on the Byzantine Empire’s system of appointed governors rather than the landed vassals of the West. Build a noble estate and compete for power and imperial appointments, undermining your rivals and establishing a power base that can survive a few years out of office.
But the most exciting thing in this expansion to any strategy player is the new focus on wandering. Yup, instead of being locked to your one kingdom, “Roads to Power” allows players to freely roam the map, untied to any realm or holding. Players will have to fulfill contracts as a landless adventurer, even through the generations, building up a reputation by earning gold and prestige in equal measure.
Crusader Kings III: Roads to Power Features
Below you’ll find the full list of upcoming features as explained by Paradox Interactive:
- Administrative Government: Experience medieval rule outside of the feudal system with a new style of empire management. A web of Governors jockeys for position in the empire with intrigue and power, sometimes rewarding merit and sometimes rewarding perfidy. Only a truly skilled Emperor can keep these squabbling forces in line.
- The Family Estate: Run and manage a powerful Family Estate, the seat of your House’s power, even when you hold no other land. Construct new buildings and improvements to further your power and influence within an administrative empire.
- Influence System: Build up a character’s influence within an administrative empire to climb the rungs of bureaucracy. Raise your status in the realm and gather more power for yourself. Start as a landless noble on an estate, and compete for valuable provinces to govern before making your bid for the Purple.
- Choose Successor or Caesar: Spend the influence you have gathered to determine the course of the Empire and get the successor you want, whether a royal family member, a powerful noble, a martial hero, or any other candidate you can rally the people behind. The Emperor can even opt to co-rule if the burden of the throne is too much for one person.
- New Byzantine Flavor Content: New events, monuments, and activities built around the Byzantine theme, including chariot racing.
- Cosmetic Additions: A Byzantine-themed UI skin and new court fashions for your characters, new 2D event art, new on-map monuments of the Byzantine world, new on-map holding designs, and a Byzantine throne room for Royal Court sessions, among other aesthetic improvements. New music inspired by Orthodox holy chants is also included.
What is in the Wandering Nobles event pack?
The Wandering Nobles event pack sweetens the expansion update with a new collection of travel-themed events. Players can have new adventures on the road as they make their way on pilgrimage or while they trek across the kingdom. It ultimately features new events connected to travel, new lifestyles, and the associated activities.
This new Wandering lifestyle will come with three new branches for players to pick from:
- Inspector: Landed characters can survey and improve their realm; landless characters can seek environmental specialization.
- Wayfarer: Travel to reduce stress and pursue fame for your exploits.
- Voyager: Improve linguistic skills and live the life of a tourist and sightseer.
The Wandering Nobles event pack also comes with new activities for each of the new lifestyle branches:
- Inspection: Inspectors can examine their realm and pursue improvements
- Hike: Wayfarers can reduce stress with a walk in the wilderness.
- Monument Expedition: Voyagers can set forth to see special buildings in other realms
