Crusader Kings 3 – What Is the End Date of the Game? How to Change It

You play Crusader Kings 3, and you conquer most of the world, but then you hit the end date and still have a few provinces to go.

This can be very annoying to most players since many don’t even know when the game is supposed to end.

Recommended Read: How to Move Your Capital in Crusader Kings 3

If you also play Europa Universalis 4, you probably imagine that the end date would be the start of that game, 1444. However, you would be wrong.

Here is the exact end date of CK3 and how you can possibly change that end date to better suit your playstyle.

Table of contents

• The End Date in CK3
• Can You Change the End Date in CK3?

The End Date in CK3

The end date for Crusader Kings 3, no matter what start date you choose (867 or 1066), is going to be January 1, 1453.

This is a perfect end if you want new content since you can now continue your playthrough in Europa Universalis 4, which has its usual start in 1444.

Since most of the innovations in the game are based around medieval times, even if you would play past this date in CK3, there would be no new content.

However, the real question is, can you even change the end date?

Can You Change the End Date in CK3?

In normal grand strategy games from Paradox Interactive, once you reach the end date, you usually have a choice to continue past the end date.

In CK3, you can choose if you would rather have the 1453 end date or no end date before you start your playthrough.

Here is how to change the end date in CK3:

1. Choose “New Game” from the main menu (you can’t do this if you have already started the game).
2. At the bottom of the screen, click the “Game Rules” button.
3. Scroll down through all those options until you find the “End Date” option, shown in the image at the top of the article.
4. Click the arrow next to “1453” and you will find the “No End Date” alternative.
5. Press the “Apply” button at the bottom of the menu.

Now there won’t be any end date for your CK3 game, and you can continue until the end of time.

However, the problem with choosing the “No End Date” option is that you won’t be able to receive achievements anymore.

So if you are an Ironman Mode veteran and want to get your fair share of achievements, then keep the normal end date and continue in EU4.

If you just want to push back the end date a few years and don’t actually want CK3 to continue forever, you can also just change the end date to a different year. Here is how to do that:

1. Find your game file and go into “game\common\defines\”.
2. Open the 00_defines.txt file.
3. You will see at the start of the file the END_DATE = “1453.1.1” line. Just change the numbers to suit your preferred CK3 end date.

Doing this will change your end date but will still disallow you from getting achievements since the game will know you changed the base files.

So, it would be better just to change the end date from the in-game Rules menu since this is much easier to change later if you do want to get achievements for your next playthrough.

That’s everything you need to know about the end date in Crusader Kings 3!

Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.