"Crusader Kings 3": DLCs are now also available as a subscription

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Paradox Interactive is now offering the additional content for the grand strategy game “Crusader Kings 3” as a subscription: for 10 euros per month, you can play the game with all additional packages for one month. The prerequisite is that you already own the main game on Steam. The DLC subscription is currently not offered on other systems and platforms because only Steam supports subscription billing at all.

The DLC subscription includes all previously released additional content for the strategy game, which was released in 2020. Those who buy the still available DLCs individually currently pay 260 euros. However, this does not include a few packages that are no longer offered separately but are included in the subscription. In any case, the main game must be purchased separately – it normally costs 50 Euros but is regularly offered at a discount for 15 Euros.

Who is the DLC subscription worthwhile for?

DLC subscriptions are controversial in the gaming community. Many reject them fundamentally because they prefer to own their content – if that is even possible on modern platforms like Steam, which only sell usage licenses. Furthermore, some fear that the existence of a DLC subscription could drive up the prices for DLC purchases.

On the other hand, DLC subscriptions offer newcomers easier access to the game. Instead of spending hours researching DLCs and shelling out several hundred euros for the additional packages, they can simply subscribe and don't have to worry about the rest.

Especially those who only play sporadically will also save significantly more with the DLC subscription than by buying individual packages – provided they cancel the subscription in time. Because the subscription renews automatically and “Crusader Kings 3” is not a game that can be “played through.” You have to decide for yourself when you have seen enough and want to take a break until the next playthrough.

Cheaper for longer playtime

If you commit for longer than a month, you can save some money with the DLC subscription for “Crusader Kings 3”: for 20 euros, you can play for three months; 30 euros even provide six months of access to all additional content. So even those who choose the most expensive subscription will save money over two years of subscription compared to buying individual DLC packages. But for gamers who already own some DLCs, the calculation is, of course, more complicated. And the calculation omits the fact that at least the older DLC packages are also occasionally offered at a discount.

The DLC subscription for “Crusader Kings 3” could gain value over time as more DLCs are released. Paradox often provides its games with new content for years. However, it can also happen that the price of the DLC subscription increases due to additional DLC releases.

DLC subscriptions not entirely new

Subscriptions for DLCs are unusual in the gaming industry, but not entirely new: Paradox itself already offers such a DLC subscription for “Europa Universalis 4” and “Hearts of Iron 4,” but you can also purchase DLCs by subscription for games from other manufacturers such as “Planet Coaster” by Frontier or “Payday 2” by Starbreeze.

“Crusader Kings 3” is a medieval strategy game with role-playing elements in which you control a person instead of an empire. This can be a baron, a count, or a king, but with the DLCs, landless individuals can also be controlled. Players forge friendships, manipulate enemies, seek partners, go hunting, wage war, and raise their offspring – after all, they become the next playable character when the current one dies. On Steam, 90 percent of over 90,000 reviewers recommend the game. Many of them have invested hundreds of hours in “Crusader Kings 3.”

(dahe)