Crusader Kings 3's Silk and Silver merchant republics expansion will arrive during the unusually quiet period of mid-November 2026.

Background: A Fifth Chapter Expansion After By God Alone

Crusader Kings III is getting its second big expansion of the year, and the date is now set: Silk and Silver will arrive on November 17th. It is part of the game's fifth chapter of downloadable content, and it follows the recently released Church-centric expansion By God Alone. Silk and Silver is described as the "gold-clinking sibling" of By God Alone.

Development: Trading Companies, Doges, and Trade Leagues

The expansion changes the focus from realms ruled by Popes and priests to merchant republics like Venice. The route to power is to start a successful trading company and build up a patrician family until it can rule as a palm-greasing Doge.

Silk and Silver gives players influence over the areas their republic specialises in, such as naval trade, bread and circuses populism, or establishing a deep class of nobles to send out across Europe in the hopes of currying favour. It also adds choices around laws and customs, including a constitution that can be shaped to maximise personal ends or deliver good for the people. In foreign policy, players decide which trade routes to pursue control of, whether to seek a monopoly, or whether to work with other republics for mutual benefit in trade leagues.

Despite its maritime trading focus, the expansion is not set to introduce naval warfare to Crusader Kings III. Paradox addressed that point in a deep dive earlier this year:

"We know this is a topic people care about and relate to the republics strongly," Paradox wrote. "but between a whole lot of balancing and a whole lot of new systems that we are adding to the game, we chose not to spend time and energy on trying to pack in another large feature that we would not be able to give it enough love and time to do well."

Latest Progress: November 17th and the Mid-November Window

The official announcement trailer for Crusader Kings III: Silk and Silver is available on YouTube. The November 17th release date sits just a couple of days before a release that is not named, and it lands in a mid-November period that has resulted in a lot of studios opting to give that stretch a wide berth.

For PC players, the date adds another new release before console players move toward the unnamed title. The merchant republic theme may not have as much meme potential as playable Popes, even in cases that do not see the game glitch out and let players marry three ladies they should not before divorcing them all in a single day. Still, being a medieval business tycoon could allow plenty of other tomfoolery that makes the decades roll by in funny fashion.

Current Stage: Confirmed Date, Defined Systems, and One Known Limitation

As of the latest announcement, Silk and Silver has a confirmed November 17th release, a trailer, a focus on merchant republics, trading companies, patrician families, constitutions, trade routes, trade leagues, and monopolies. The known limitation from the earlier deep dive is that naval warfare is not set to arrive with the expansion.