Sega and Creative Assembly Halt Sales of Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition Following Launch Issues
- Sega and Creative Assembly are temporarily removing Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale.
- The game launched on October 13 and has been critiqued for not meeting quality standards.
- Existing owners can still access the game while improvements are being investigated.
Sega and Creative Assembly have announced plans to temporarily withdraw Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale, just days after its launch on October 13. This decision comes as the companies acknowledge that the game “has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards.”
In a statement shared via Twitter/X, the companies indicated that they have been reviewing player feedback and acknowledged that the current experience is “not where it needs to be.” They are collaborating with platform holders to remove the game from sale and restore access to the original version while investigating the reported issues.
The statement reassured existing owners that they would still be able to access and play the game during this period of investigation. Further, Sega and Creative Assembly are committed to working closely with their development partner to pinpoint the causes of these problems and implement necessary improvements to align the Complete Edition with the quality standards expected from the Total War series.
Although the companies did not specify the problems encountered, many fans suspect that the issues may relate to AI functionality, citing specific criticisms such as “hokey upscaling” as potential concerns. Within days of its release, the game’s Steam score dramatically declined, reflecting an “overwhelmingly negative” response with only 15 percent of over 4,000 reviews being positive. Currently, visitors to the game’s Steam page are informed that it “is no longer available on the Steam store.”
This situation follows recent trends seen in the gaming industry regarding AI technology, with other companies also experiencing backlash related to its use in their products. Notably, Level-5’s CEO apologized after confirming that generative AI was utilized in a recent showcase, highlighting a broader dialogue within the gaming community about AI’s role in game development.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
