When playing a hard game such as Crusader Kings 3, which usually requires players to invest hours over hours to get results, it is not surprising that you may want to use some cheats here and there.
However, most games just let you press a button, and you are done. The cheat console opens up, and you can start making it rain.
Recommended Read: How to Increase Character Stats in Crusader Kings 3
Unfortunately, this might not be such a simple task in CK3, as you have to fulfill a few steps before you can even attempt to do that.
So, here is how you can open the cheat/debug console in Crusader Kings 3.
Table of contents
How to enable debug mode and console in CK3
To open up the cheat console in CK3, you will first have to enable debug mode. Until you do this, there is no way to boot the console.
The only way you can enable debug mode is to do it out of the game, through the game files.
There are a few ways to enable debug mode in CK3, depending on which platform you used to get the game.
Through Launcher
The easiest way to enable it is through the Paradox Interactive launcher:
- On the left side of the launcher, select Game Settings
- All the way at the bottom, you will find the “Open game in Debug Mode” option. Enable it.
Using Steam
Players that got CK3 on Steam can also enable debug mode through the app:
- In your Library, right-click CK3.
- Select “Properties.”
- You can now see “Launch Options” and some space underneath where that is written. Paste “-debug_mode” in there, without quotation marks.
Using GOG
If you got CK3 on GOG, here is how to enable debug mode:
- Right-click the game in the app and open Settings.
- Enable the “Add command line arguments” option and enter “debug_mode”.
Through the game files
If you would rather go directly into the game files, you can also activate debug mode by doing this:
- Go to your CK3 directory, and then go into the “binaries” folder.
- Right-click “ck3.exe” and create a shortcut.
- Right-click the shortcut, and then open Properties.
- In the “Target” field add “-debug_mode” at the end. It should look something like this: “…\ck3.exe” -debug_mode
- Launch the game using the shortcut.
How to open the console in CK3
Now that you’ve managed to enable debug mode, here is all you need to do to open the cheat console in CK3:
While in-game, press the ` key (also known as tilde, situated to the left of the “1” key.). If it doesn’t work, or you don’t have the key on your keyboard, you can also try:
- Shift + 2
- ALT + 2 + 1
- Shift + 3
- §
- ~
- ^
- 2
That’s everything you need to know about how to open the console in Crusader Kings 3!
Have any input or suggestions for this guide? Let us know in the comment section below.
