Silk & Silver locks in a November 17 release date
Paradox has locked Crusader Kings III: Silk & Silver for November 17, 2026, according to the official Steam announcement. The expansion centers on medieval trade, turning a merchant company or a patrician republic into a source of dynastic power. The Major Expansion costs $29.99 in the United States, GBP 25.99 in the United Kingdom, and EUR 29.99 in Europe. It is also part of the Chapter V expansion pass, which means the purchase decision depends on what a player already owns. Anyone who already bought Chapter V gets Silk & Silver when the expansion unlocks without buying the standalone version. Anyone who has not bought the pass can purchase the expansion directly for the standalone price, or weigh the pass against the rest of Chapter V, including the religion-focused By God Alone expansion that arrived earlier in the same pass.
Two new governments, two new routes away from the landed core
Silk & Silver adds Merchant and Republic government types. The base Crusader Kings III loop is built around a landed ruler whose dynasty advances through titles, inheritance, and court control. Merchant makes the player a landless family at the head of a trading company, turning wealth into the primary route upward. Republic moves the player into a patrician family where the doge holds power only as long as popularity and the Assembly allow it. The three play styles route power differently. Landed rule advances through holdings, merchant rule through trade and cash, and republic rule through votes, law, and influence in the city.
Merchant: trading empire, specializations, and mansion growth
Paradox describes the Merchant fantasy as rising from obscurity to greatness by using wealth to advance a dynasty. The named systems are:
- A Nose for Profit points the player toward profitable Trade Routes across more than 40 trade goods, with the trade empire expanding as the merchant company gains renown and wealth.
- Three specializations, Caravaneer, Creditor, and Artisan, each come with their own bonuses and unique content. Caravaneers move considerable amounts of goods, Creditors loan money to rulers, and Artisans create new artifacts.
- Specialize and Thrive awards experience in traded goods, unlocking bonuses and increasing business acumen, which grows company reputation.
- Lobby for Power uses money and intrigue to sway nobles and royalty in search of patrons who can strengthen the trade empire.
- Market Lockdown converts political influence into exclusive rights to trade selected goods in Markets, up to a complete Monopoly.
- Expand Your Mansion uses gold and prestige to improve the trading company base, adding trade routes and gaining an edge over rivals.
A landed CK3 run usually starts with a holding and a title hierarchy. A merchant run starts with a company, a route network, and a specialization choice, and the early pressure is commercial. More trade routes raise renown, and higher renown opens room for more routes and monopolies, a loop that keeps the merchant company growing without a single title in hand.
Republic: the doge, the Assembly, and the constitution
Republic play is an urban patrician loop. The announcement specifies that wealth buys power and that popularity determines who keeps the doge role. Rival houses are handled through law, bribery, and the will of the Assembly. The feature list includes:
- Laws and Assemblies lets the player set the constitution of the Republic and ask the Assembly to pass laws controlling the terms of leaders and the uses of the state treasury.
- Vie for Power secures profitable Trade Routes and places family members into influential positions to become a powerful Patrician family.
- Shape Your Republic offers three administration choices: a seafaring trade power, an expansionist house of nobles, or a city-state ruled by the will of the common folk.
- Establish Trade Dominance places Trade Posts in foreign counties.
- Forge Lucrative Pacts joins other Republics in Trade Leagues for commercial and military benefits.
Republic play keeps the player inside a political structure, and tenure is conditional. A landed king can lose a war and lose land. A doge can lose an election, lose an Assembly vote, or be outmaneuvered by rival houses even without a single army crossing the border. The administration choice is a strategic fork. A seafaring power leans on naval trade, an expansionist house of nobles on military growth, and a city-state on civic popularity. Trade routes fund and protect family power in a Republic run.
Bookmarks and the Italian setting
The expansion ships with two bookmarks. The 1066 Channels of Commerce bookmark lets players control renowned merchants of the Middle Ages building trade networks for spices, silk, and silver. The 1178 Guelphs & Ghibellines bookmark covers the defining Northern Italy conflict between papal and imperial ambitions. Italian flavor additions include civic carnivals celebrating the Republic, and the Guelphs & Ghibellines conflict can escalate from political factions into open warfare. The announcement names 1178 as the bookmark for that conflict without saying the conflict is locked to that start date.
Standalone vs Chapter V, and what is still unknown
The expansion requires the base game Crusader Kings III on Steam. For a player who already owns Chapter V, no separate standalone purchase is needed. For a player who does not own the pass, the standalone price is the direct option, while the pass is worth evaluating because it also contains the earlier By God Alone expansion. The announcement does not provide a separate Chapter V pass price.
What Paradox has not pinned down is the balance layer. There are no specific trade route income numbers, mansion upgrade costs, Monopoly thresholds, or Assembly vote weights in the announcement. There is also no console release timing and no deep dev-diary breakdown yet. Those details may come later, but they are not part of today’s confirmed facts.
The expansion arrives in a busy Paradox window. Paradox’s other grand strategy line, Stellaris, just detailed its own update in Dev Diary 436, and the company also has the Hearts of Iron IV energy rework open beta running.
