Creative Assembly's Roger Collum says the studio did not develop Shogun 2: Complete Edition and bans generative AI assets at its own studio.
Sega and Creative Assembly are temporarily removing Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from sale just days after release, according to Eurogamer. The companies shared a statement on Twitter/X saying the game has fallen short of player expectations and their own standards. The Complete Edition launched on October 13. Sega and Creative Assembly say they are working with platform holders to pull the game for now and to reinstate the original game while they investigate the issues.
Player complaints and reviews
GamingOnLinux reports that player complaints range from performance problems to bugs, plus artwork it describes as clearly generated by AI, such as people with 6 fingers. Eurogamer adds that the Steam score fell to overwhelmingly negative, with just 15 percent of more than 4,000 reviews positive. The Steam page now warns that the game is no longer available on the store. Sega's statement itself does not use the term AI at all.
According to GamingOnLinux, MATABOO and SEGA developed the release, and Creative Assembly did not make it directly even though its name is attached because of the original game. Collum confirmed that in his own post. He said the release was not subject to the studio's internal reviews and quality assurance, and that the team took its eyes off the external development while its teams focused on their next big projects.
Collum said Creative Assembly does not use generative AI to create game assets, including AI-generated art, and that it demands the same of external developers. He added that the situation with the Complete Edition is being investigated. He also said the studio does use AI tools where they help its craftspeople, naming analysis, debugging and speedy prototyping, and argued that AI can support a creator but should not replace one.
Anyone who already bought the Complete Edition can keep playing it, the companies said. New buyers cannot get it for now, because the game is off the Steam store while the original game is reinstated. Eurogamer notes the statement does not detail the issues or say when the game will return to sale, so there is no timeline for a fixed version.
Collum said Creative Assembly has pulled together a small team of senior developers to work with SEGA and the external developer on next steps, though he did not have details yet. Sega and Creative Assembly say they are working with their development partner to find the causes of the problems and deliver improvements. Collum promised an update once there is something meaningful to share, and asked fans not to direct anger at individual team members.
Release date, platforms and price
- Status: off sale since mid October 2026, no return date announced (the Complete Edition launched October 13, 2026)
- Platforms: PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, GOG)
- Price: owners keep playing; the original Total War: SHOGUN 2 is back on Steam at 29.99 US dollars, Blood Pack DLC 2.99 US dollars
- Where to get it: the original game on Steam
Source: GamingOnLinux
Our Take
We think the pulled release shows how much a famous name can cost when the work is done elsewhere. Collum says the team took its eyes off external development, and that is a process failure players will remember more than the AI debate. Creative Assembly has now put its AI stance in writing, so we will judge the fix by whether the investigation gives a clear answer on the artwork and whether the game returns in better shape.
GamingBroject
Source: Eurogamer
About Total War: Shogun 2
- Genre: Real-time strategy, Turn-based strategy, Real-time tactics
- Metacritic: 90
Follow GamingBroject on Google: add us as a preferred source
Community
0 comments