Crusader Kings 3's latest update blocks same-sex relationship mods
Paradox say: "In no way was this implemented in order to deliberately bar players from including same-sex relationships in the game"
Paradox Interactive dropped patch 1.3 for Crusader Kings 3 this week, alongside a new Viking-themed DLC. However, it's not all good news, because the update has also stopped players from being able to mod in same-sex relationships into the medieval strategy game. Some fans are concerned about the reasons for this change, but Paradox tell us they didn't intend on deliberately barring same-sex relationships.
For context, unmodded CK3 does allow for some same-sex relationships, but not same-sex marriage or concubinage. Players have been partially getting around this by using same-sex concubine mods, but modders have been unable to implement same-sex marriage at all (which is something they have been able to do in CK2).
Now, according to a post on Paradox's forums, the 1.3 patch which dropped on Monday has broken the concubine mods, causing them to trigger the error message:
"Error: make_concubine effect [ Illegal concubinage: <Character> is the same gender as their concubinist, so they can't become a concubine ]".
It's not a great look for CK3. However, Paradox tells us that, while this change was consciously made, it doesn't have anything to do with barring same-sex content from the game.
"The change, in this case, was part of a set of fixes around concubine-related behaviors in the game, leading to buggy outcomes like concubines being assigned to dead people," they told RPS over email. "In no way was this implemented in order to deliberately bar players from including same-sex relationships in the game.
"The issue is that the way some features were implemented in the base game, at this point, make official legal same sex partnerships difficult to mod in without breaking a lot of stuff. The CK3 team, and Paradox as a whole, are very conscious of representation in our games, and same-sex lovers have been included in CK3 since launch - but we know this is not the same thing as a formal relationship. This is something we support, since allowing everyone to tell their story is a big part of our values."
Paradox also mention that they're "looking into it" with the CK3 team. Though, judging from a comment by a programmer on their forums on Wednesday, it might be a while before it's fixed.
They said that "compared to other needs for the project it's not been a high priority to look at since modding requests are always low in the prio list." However, they did add that "it's something multiple of the team do want as well, so it will likely get a look at in time."