CK3 All Under Heaven: East Asia, the Mandate, and God-Kings

All Under Heaven is the largest kind of expansion Paradox makes: not a new system bolted onto the existing map, but a whole new part of the world to play in. It pushes Crusader Kings III’s borders east into China, Japan, and Southeast Asia — regions the game had never covered — and gives each its own path to power. This page covers what it adds and whether it belongs in your library.

The map expands to East Asia

The core of All Under Heaven is geographic: the world of Crusader Kings III now stretches toward East Asia, taking in the rich and storied lands of China, Japan, and Southeast Asia. This is a monumental expansion of the playable map, filled with the history, culture, and innovation of the region. For long-time players who had exhausted the possibilities of Europe, the Middle East, and India, it is an entirely fresh canvas — new cultures, new religions, new terrain, and new neighbours who play by their own rules.

Three ways to rule the East

The expansion gives the region three distinct campaign fantasies:

Claim the Mandate of Heaven in China. China arrives not as a static off-map empire but as playable, storied land, and the Mandate of Heaven is the prize at its centre — the heavenly right to rule that legitimises an emperor and can be won or lost. A Chinese hegemony also reshapes the diplomatic map around it through the expansion’s tributary system — see the tributary guide for how paying and extracting tribute actually works.

Unify Japan under your family clan. Japan is built around legendary warrior clans jockeying for dominance. Leading a clan to unify the islands is its own self-contained campaign, distinct from anything in the feudal west.

Thrive as a God-King in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia introduces God-King rulership, where divine status shapes how you rule and how your subjects relate to you — a flavour of power the rest of the map does not offer.

Each of these is a different experience, which is much of the expansion’s value: it is not one new mechanic but three new regional identities to explore.

Warrior clans and a living map

The connective tissue across all three regions is the theme of legendary warrior clans and vibrant, storied power struggles. All Under Heaven leans into the drama of clans jockeying for dominance — the same courtly intrigue, dynastic struggle, and warfare that defines Crusader Kings III, transplanted into settings where the specific stakes and titles are new. For a player who has internalised how the western game plays, the pleasure is re-learning those instincts against unfamiliar cultures, faiths, and rivals. The map does not merely get bigger; it gets a new set of rules layered onto the familiar dynastic core.

How All Under Heaven fits the DLC timeline

All Under Heaven is the fourth major expansion, following Roads to Power and Khans of the Steppe. It was announced on 12 March 2025 and released on 28 October 2025 alongside the free patch 1.18 — as with every major expansion, that accompanying patch delivered much of the underlying framework to all players, so even without the expansion you feel some of the surrounding changes. The expansion itself, though, is what makes the eastern lands playable in full. It represents Paradox’s continued strategy of extending the map generationally: where the base game ran from Iceland to India, All Under Heaven pushes that boundary decisively into East Asia, the largest single geographic expansion the game has received.

Is All Under Heaven worth it?

All Under Heaven is the current flagship expansion, and its value proposition is straightforward: it is worth it if you want a genuinely new region to conquer and rule. Players who have spent hundreds of hours in the western map get the rare thing a mature grand-strategy game struggles to offer — somewhere completely unfamiliar to start over. If East Asian history, or simply the novelty of new cultures and systems, appeals to you, this is a strong buy.

It is a less obvious first purchase for a new player. The base game and foundational packs teach you the feudal systems that everything else builds on, and diving straight into a distant region with unfamiliar mechanics can be more overwhelming than rewarding. If you are still learning CK3, enjoy the western map first and treat All Under Heaven as the expansion that reinvigorates the game once the familiar map feels solved. It also pairs naturally with the culture and religion systems — the new region is a showcase for how far cultural and religious variety can reshape a campaign.

Frequently asked questions

When was All Under Heaven released?

28 October 2025, alongside patch 1.18. It is the fourth major expansion for Crusader Kings III.

What regions does All Under Heaven add?

China, Japan, and Southeast Asia — a major eastward extension of the playable map.

What are the main new ways to play?

Claiming the Mandate of Heaven in China, unifying Japan under a warrior clan, and ruling as a God-King in Southeast Asia. Each is a distinct campaign path.

Is it worth buying for a new player?

It is better as a later purchase. Learn the base game and feudal systems first; All Under Heaven shines most when you want a fresh region after the western map feels familiar.

How does All Under Heaven compare to Roads to Power?

They solve different itches. Roads to Power adds new ways to play — landless adventuring and administrative rule — on the existing map. All Under Heaven adds a new place to play, extending the map into East Asia with its own regional systems. If you want fresh mechanics, lean Roads to Power; if you want fresh geography and civilizations, lean All Under Heaven.