In a recent interview with gameindustry.biz, Fred Wester, the CEO of Paradox Interactive, spoke about the possibility of a sequel to their long-running historical strategy game Crusader Kings II. He said that a sequel will “probably” happen since the current game is getting too “crowded” for more expansions.
Since it’s release in 2012, Crusader Kings II has received regular expansion packs and updates. It currently has fourteen expansion packs available, and the fifteenth, Holy Fury, is due to come out later this year. In his interview with gameindustry.biz, he mentioned that the game feels “heavy” and can’t be expanded much more, so a sequel is likely. He said:
We will probably do it at some point, and the reason for that is the technical depth that we have in Crusader Kings 2. We can’t add much more to the game as it is now. It’s crowded. The map is really big, there’s so much content in there. It wasn’t really built for all of the expansions we made. It’s getting heavy. We might need to take the etch-a-sketch, shake it a little bit, and start over.
Making a sequel to a long-supported video game like Crusader Kings II is always a bit of a gamble. Whenever a sequel comes out, it inevitably comes out missing some of the unique features that have been part of the expansion packs and updates. It’s a similar problem EA has with The Sims, where whenever they want to make changes to the foundations via a sequel, the new game loses out on features like pets and seasons. At least at first.
Fred Wester is in his final days as CEO of Paradox Interactive. He will become executive chairman of the board in August, with current board member Ebba Ljungerud set to become the new CEO when Fred abdicates his position.