Paradox Interactive have announced that Crusader Kings 2, everybody's favourite game of diplomacy, war and deceit has sold over one million copies.
Released in 2012 as a sequel to the excessively buggy but criminally under appreciated grand strategy game of 2004. CK2 is proving to be exceptionally well supported not only by the developer but also the fans, a number of well placed sales on Steam have helped to get the title out in the wild, whilst a steady stream of DLC and expansions have continued to keep the game fresh and a varied experience from beginning to end.
The games popularity has coincided nicely with HBO's fantasy rompathon Game of Thrones, which mod developers have taken advantage of to develop an extensive overhaul of to boost the games popularity outside its usual realm of appeal. The Elder Scrolls series has also enjoyed a fan made crossover, with modders working to implement a lore accurate depiction of Tamriel into the proceedings, dragonborn included!
Whilst there's obvious and understandable grumbling in certain sections about the extensive level of DLC required to enjoy the complete experience it doesn't seem to have put off a large swathe of the fan base, Paradox have stated that “the catalog of DLC and expansions for Crusader Kings II have sold a combined total of approximately 7 million units”
Some eye watering statistics to finish: “Crusader Kings II is played by an average of 12,500 players every day, and roughly 100,000 players in a month. The average Crusader Kings II player has a playtime of just over 99 hours.” That's a whole lot of energy to consume plotting to kill your widowed aunt for inheritance purposes, I'm sure it's all worth it in the end though?