Total War: Shogun 2 Remaster Pulled After Player Backlash

Creative Assembly plans to remove Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from sale while it investigates player complaints about bugs, crashes and poor performance. The developer is working with platform holders and plans to return the original game to Steam. Existing owners will retain access to the Complete Edition.

The remaster launched Tuesday, October 13, and had 17% positive reviews on Steam by October 15. In a statement, Creative Assembly acknowledged that the game had fallen short of player expectations and its own standards. The company did not give a date for its return to sale.

Players have reported unresolved bugs from the 2011 release, new problems in the Complete Edition, crashes and weak performance. The remaster’s redesigned unit cards have also drawn criticism, with some users describing them as appearing AI-generated. Creative Assembly and development partner Mataboo have not listed generative AI among the technologies used to create the game.

The Complete Edition costs $39.99 or £34.99. Owners of the original game can buy it at a 75% discount, bringing the price to $9.99 or £8.75. Some reviews have questioned the price, describing the changes as closer to a free update than a paid remaster. The original game was removed from Steam when the Complete Edition launched.

The remaster adds support for 1440p and 4K interface scaling, updated controls, more than 50 newly playable minor factions, new cutscenes, Japanese and Chinese voice acting and text, and integrated mod support. Total War: Shogun 2 was released in 2011.