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In Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition, open Game Options and select the chicken icon to access the built-in cheat options. You can unlock missions and modes or enable cheat keys for free buildings or Popularity/Gold. Using these options disables achievement earning for the affected session.
How to open the cheat options
- Open Game Options from within the game.
- Click the large chicken icon. Firefly Studios identifies this as the menu for cheat-related options.
- Select the unlock or cheat-key option you want. The choices documented by Firefly include Campaigns, Skirmish Trails, Sands of Times, and Co-Op unlocks, as well as cheat keys for free buildings or Popularity/Gold.
Firefly’s instructions describe enabling cheat keys, but do not specify the exact keyboard combinations to activate free buildings, Popularity, or Gold afterward. Older Stronghold and Crusader HD key sequences should not be treated as confirmed instructions for this edition. See Firefly Studios for official game information.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Stronghold Collection - PC | $51.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Choose temporary or permanent mission unlocks
The English v1.02 manual documents two durations for mission unlocks:
| Choice | What it means |
|---|---|
| Temporary | Unlocks missions for the current game session. |
| Permanent | Unlocks remain in place between game sessions. |
These are the manual’s documented mission-unlock choices; it does not provide a mode-by-mode map of which choices appear in each game mode.
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- Stronghold - The original, award-winning castle sim that takes players through medieval Britain as they lead strategic military and economic expansion, defend against invaders, and conquer enemy castles.
- Stronghold 2 - The King, having fled after the defeat of his own armies, is now attempting to rule his country from a secret location. Powerful barons are jostling for what is fast becoming a disintegrating kingdom, and it is up to you to stem the tides of their ambition and unite the land again under the King.
- Stronghold Crusader and Stronghold Crusader Extreme - Journey to distant Arabian lands and lead a determined group of Crusaders. Relive the historic Crusades in four campaigns as Richard the Lionheart and Saladin, the Sultan of Syria. Stronghold Crusader Extreme adds 20 new missions, new buildings and larger armies of 10,000 troops.
- Stronghold Legends - Play as epic leaders throughout history, including King Arthur and the forces of Camelot, Siegfried and Dietrich in the German Ice Campaign, and Vlad Dracul and his evil forces in Transylvania.
- ESRB T Teen for images of Blood and Violence
What happens to achievements
Firefly warns that using any of these cheats stops achievement earning for that session. The English v1.02 manual describes the effect as disabling achievements in the affected game modes for that game session. If earning achievements matters to you, avoid activating the chicken-menu cheats in that session.
Keep the instructions specific to Definitive Edition
The chicken-menu route and options above are the developer-documented method for Stronghold Crusader: Definitive Edition. The cited official guidance does not confirm legacy keyboard codes or give exact cheat-key bindings. Firefly’s website reported the Summer Update and DLC available on August 5, 2026; interface details can change with later updates, so check the current in-game menu if your version differs.
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