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Crusader Kings II
Explore one of the defining periods in world history in an experience crafted by the masters of Grand Strategy.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Data as of 2026-05-20.
What reviewers agree on
70 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
“Seeing as this is my number 1 played game on steam I think its about time to write my review of the game. Firstly, the base game is captivating. This is a world of rules which you must follow or the game is going to…”
“i Still love it more than Ck3 Such nostalgy hits me when i play this game i bought it in Biedronka long time ago as a Kid , still have the CD with me DLC Cost too much but its Paradox after all 9/10”
11 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
“After 500 hours in CK2, I can confirm that it's a magnificent game that is worth your time and worth learning. I play with all DLC except Aztecs, and I play with only a few cosmetic mods to improve interface clarity.…”
“Eu não vou dar uma de engraçadinho. Quando eu comprei todas as DLCs dessa bomba eu pensei "porra, 200 reais em um jogo de mapinha?" e me senti um otário. Cara, se cada real valer 1 hora, esse jogo já se recomprou umas 9…”
9 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“Yeah, sure CK3 is out, but this game has had so much content added to it over the years. Just get it on sale, you will not regret it.”
“Eu não vou dar uma de engraçadinho. Quando eu comprei todas as DLCs dessa bomba eu pensei "porra, 200 reais em um jogo de mapinha?" e me senti um otário. Cara, se cada real valer 1 hora, esse jogo já se recomprou umas 9…”
“It allows you to slaughter your way though all of medieval Europe with nothing but a strong army and a Chancellor with a high diplomacy skill. Best free to play game I've ever played.”
6 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
“If you have the same brain worm that I do that makes countries nested inside of other countries irresistibly compelling, you'll probably like this game. This game also has an astounding ability to generate interesting…”
“> Be me, Count of Anjou, trying to unify the Duchy and gain power to stop the Umayyad expansion in Francia > I have no heir, so I start seducing my wife to get a son > My friend starts chuckling to himself > Wife…”
5 of the 102 reviews raise this.
“better than CK3 and very addictive sometimes also its easier to learn this game if you have played other paradox games”
“Fun, uncomplicated strategy game that you can halfmindedly tune into. It is rather unfortunate though that the Steam review format doesn't have something that resemble a "meh" rating because this game's DLC scheme is…”
“its fun easy to get into and affordable”
20 of the 102 reviews raise this · 13 of them still recommend the game.
“It's free to play because it's a dlc trap. $450 aud for all the dlc on a game from 2012! Wild!! Putting up a token free to play is just a wolf in sheep skin strat. Dont Little Red Riding Hood your way into their greed…”
“Normally I don't review games. I don't bother. But what Paradox is trying to do here made me do it. I don't know what kind of fools you have as costumers but you absolutely need competition in the Grand Strategy genre.…”
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
14 of the 102 reviews raise this · 13 of them still recommend the game.
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
“i wanted to play the game but your tutorial sucks. Im trying to learn this game by looking up youtube videos and your tutorial would help if you actually had it help with what your supposed to do or what you can do and…”
“Probably my favorite game of all time. While CK3 has overtaken Ck2 in the spotlight for a few years now, the overall gameplay of Ck2 remains some of my favorite. As with every PX game, there are a few things to keep in…”
9 of the 102 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“It's free to play because it's a dlc trap. $450 aud for all the dlc on a game from 2012! Wild!! Putting up a token free to play is just a wolf in sheep skin strat. Dont Little Red Riding Hood your way into their greed…”
“Normally I don't review games. I don't bother. But what Paradox is trying to do here made me do it. I don't know what kind of fools you have as costumers but you absolutely need competition in the Grand Strategy genre.…”
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
5 of the 102 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“[h1][b] TLDR: A devilishly addicting medieval strategy game bursting with deep mechanics and endless replayability. But its brutal complexity and predatory DLC pricing on an aging title leave a sour aftertaste.[/b]…”
“After 500 hours in CK2, I can confirm that it's a magnificent game that is worth your time and worth learning. I play with all DLC except Aztecs, and I play with only a few cosmetic mods to improve interface clarity.…”
“Other than it being DLC the game, I tried to install some mods and it has to download them without any kind of interface through their dumbass launcher. No information whatsoever, whether how fast or if it's even…”
Counted across 102 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 89.9% positive rating · as of 2026-05-20
“Teaching my friend how to play this game. I slept with his wife many times and fathered 2 of his 3 kids turned them all into cultist I then logged onto steam and launched CK2”
— a player, Steam review · 63 hrs played“If you subscribe for a month, then cancel, you get all the dlcs for just $5 Also the game is good”
— a player, Steam review · 153 hrs played“I'm too dumb to get the full enjoyment of Crusader Kings II, but that's fine because if I start saving now I'll be able to afford the hundreds of dollars worth of DLC by the time I finally understand the base game.”
— a player, Steam review · 3 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live count fetched 2026-07-11 11:52 UTC · history via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-07-25.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Hotfix Patch 3.3.5.1
Hi all! We received reports that our recent patch caused problems with the Crusader Kings II: Europa Universalis IV Converter DLC, and may have affected several mods as well. Thanks for letting us kno
CKII Subscription Service Update
Hi all! We have a small update we’d like to share with you about the subscription service for Crusader Kings II. There are many players out there who are only discovering CKII now, through our subscri
CKII Subscription Service
Howdy all, Sorry for the surprise information after not hearing from us for a while, but we have some super cool stuff to tell you. We are glad to bring you the launch of a new subscription service to
Patch for MAC users: OSX Big Sur
Hello Kings & Queens! We have published a patch addressing the launch issues for MAC users, on OSX Big Sur. Crusader Kings II now handles Big Sur, so you can now dive again in-game with your preferred
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-20.
| Genres | RPG, Simulation, Strategy, Free To Play |
| Player tags | Grand Strategy · Strategy · Medieval · Historical · Political Sim · Simulation · RPG · Sandbox · Multiplayer · Politics · Diplomacy · Singleplayer (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Multi-player · Steam Trading Cards |
| Languages | English, French, German, Spanish - Spain |
| Achievements | 161 |
| Estimated owners | 2,000,000 – 5,000,000 (SteamSpy) |
| Official site | http://www.crusaderkings.com/ |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
OS: Win7 64-bit Processor: Intel® Pentium® IV 2.4 GHz or AMD 3500+ Memory: 4 GB RAM Hard Disk Space: 2 GB Video Card: NVIDIA® GeForce 8800 or ATI Radeon® X1900, 512mb graphics memory required. DirectX®: 9.0c Sound: Direct X-compatible sound card Additional: 3-button mouse and keyboard