Free game: Crusader Kings 2 on Steam, right now

Free game! Crusader Kings 2, the 2012 grand strategy game set in the Middle Ages of Europe, is now free to download, keep and play forever. Paradox Interactive is giving the game out in observance of PDXCON, the publisher’s annual gathering for fans.

The game’s many expansions are not included in the bargain — conveniently, they are half-off on Steam right now. But it’s still a gateway drug into a franchise and genre that has multitudes of followers and players.

PDXCON 2019 should have more news as the weekend unfolds. Paradox’s most recent title, Stellaris: Galaxy Command is a mobile adaptation of the space strategy series, but it was yanked from Apple and Android servers earlier this week after people found Halo 4 assets used in the game. It hasn’t returned yet.

Paradox’s latest PC game is Imperator: Rome, another grand strategy title, this one set in the city-state of the same name. That launched back in April. The company’s next project is Surviving the Aftermath, a post-apocalyptic take on Paradox’s line of Surviving-branded sci-fi colonization sims. (The most recent is 2018’s Surviving Mars, by Haemimont Games). There will be more on Surviving the Aftermath at PDXCON 2019 tomorrow.