Creative Assembly and Sega pull Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from Steam sale

Creative Assembly and Sega pulled Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from Steam sale days after its October 13 launch, following a raft of complaints about the remaster’s quality. The studios said in a joint statement that the Complete Edition had fallen short of both player expectations and their own standards. Players alleged that generative AI, software that creates images, text or other media, was used to create assets in the strategy game, pointing to art inconsistencies and AI-generated-looking designs.

The Complete Edition launched October 13 as a facelift for the much-loved 2011 strategy classic. Sega promoted upgraded visuals including improved textures, models, lighting, shadows, fog and environments. The package offered 1440p and 4K interface scaling, revamped controls, a 64-bit upgrade, full Japanese and Chinese localization, more than 50 newly playable minor factions, fresh cutscenes, and optional 2.5D campaign movies inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e art. It bundled the original game’s expansions and downloadable content and included integrated mod support through Mod.io, a platform that hosts user-created modifications.

Sega priced the Complete Edition at $39.99 / £34.99, though existing owners of the original game could buy it at a 75 percent discount, bringing the price to $9.99 / £8.75. The publisher removed the original Shogun 2 from Steam at launch, leaving the Complete Edition as the only version newcomers and returning customers could still buy on storefronts.

The remaster opened to an overwhelmingly negative user review rating on Steam, with PCGamesN reporting a 17 percent positive score after its October 13 launch. GosuGamers said 85 percent of Steam reviews criticized the game at the time. A Reddit post highlighting suspected AI-generated artwork and assets, including a before-and-after comparison of character designs, garnered 20,000 upvotes. Players reported bugs from the original game that had not been fixed, along with new issues, and poor optimization causing underwhelming performance and crashes for many users.

IGN pointed to a samurai’s face replaced with a metallic texture and inconsistencies on storyboard cutscenes as examples fans cited as possible evidence of AI use. PCGamesN reported players accusing new unit card designs of feeling AI-generated. Sega and Creative Assembly have not confirmed the AI-related claims about the game’s visuals, and neither the studio nor Mataboo disclosed any generative AI involvement in the making of the Complete Edition.

On October 23, Creative Assembly Vice President for Total War Roger Collum said Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition was not developed by Creative Assembly and was not subject to the studio’s internal reviews or quality assurance processes. “This was not a Creative Assembly developed game,” Collum said. He said the studio took its eyes off the external development of the remaster because all its teams were focused on its next big projects.

Creative Assembly said it does not use generative AI to create game assets, including AI-generated art, and demands the same of any external developers it works with. The studio is investigating the use of generative AI for assets in the Complete Edition. “AI can support the creator. It shouldn’t replace the creator,” Collum said.

He added that AI tools can help with analysis, debugging, or speedy prototyping, so experts can focus on making games, and that AI should support rather than replace the creator.

The external development partner was Mataboo, a Polish studio that worked on The Blood of Dawnwalker and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Creative Assembly has assembled a small team of senior developers to work with Sega and Mataboo on the next steps for the Complete Edition, though Collum said he did not yet have details.

Players who already bought the Complete Edition will keep access to play the game while removed from sale. Sega and Creative Assembly are working with platform holders to reinstate the original Total War: Shogun 2 to Steam while they investigate the problems with the Complete Edition. On Oct. 16, 2026, Sega’s FAQ stated that people who already owned the original game would get downloadable content they lacked.

No one has announced a return date for Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition to come back to Steam. Collum asked the Total War community not to direct anger at individuals on Creative Assembly teams, stating that Creative Assembly will not tolerate harassment and that the community should direct criticism at him instead. The studio’s statement said it would not tolerate harassment or singling out team members online and personally criticized. Creative Assembly’s community manager called the release a shame, said it had been promoted as Shogun 2’s best version when it was not, and expressed hope that the studio would collect community feedback and return the Complete Edition with needed fixes and improvements.

The Complete Edition was first announced in mid-September 2026, to the surprise of longtime series fans. Creative Assembly’s upcoming games include Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and Alien Isolation 2. NVIDIA confirmed earlier in 2026 that it is bringing NVIDIA ACE to the Total War series, though no link to Shogun 2 Complete Edition has been confirmed.