Total War Shogun 2 developer Creative Assembly has just delivered an update on the ongoing fiasco around the Complete Edition, which was released last week before being unceremoniously pulled from sale just days later. There’s no news yet on if or when the overhauled version of the iconic strategy game will return, but Total War Vice President Roger Collum explains how it got to such a dismal state. He also clarifies the studio’s stance on the use of generative AI and other AI tools, stating it “does not believe in a world where technology replaces the creativity of humans.”
Collum explains that the Total War Shogun 2 Complete Edition was developed by an external studio. Alongside CA, the Steam page lists its other developer as Mataboo, a Warsaw-based studio specializing in ports and co-development. “This was not a Creative Assembly developed game. It wasn’t subject to our same internal reviews and quality assurance. We took our eyes off its external development, with all our teams focused on our next big projects.
“However, whatever the development arrangements, Total War is our franchise and our name is on it,” he concludes. “The studio is full of craft people who care deeply about the experiences we give to our players. Shogun 2 CE did not meet that bar. We have to own that and we have to fix it.” Collum says a “small team of senior developers” has been put together to work with both Sega and its external developer on the next steps, though says he can’t provide details on what this looks like yet.
“I get many of you are angry and disappointed,” he states. “We are too – especially the team members who have put everything into Total War games for years, some even decades.” He asks players not to direct their frustrations towards specific individuals within Creative Assembly. “As a team, we want to be transparent with our communications as much as possible, but that cannot be at the expense of the safety of our people.”
Collum adds, “When the team does well, it’s all about them. When we get it wrong, it’s on me. You absolutely have the right to be mad, and to criticize us, but direct it at me. We know we must earn your trust by making good games, and crucially, by how we respond when we get things wrong. We’re human, we will get things wrong, and I promise as long as I’m here, when that happens, we’ll hold our hands up and try to make it right.”
He also addresses player concerns about potential generative AI use. The game’s Steam page did not declare any such tools, but questions have been raised about the look of certain areas of Shogun 2’s Complete Edition, including unit frames and cutscenes. “At Creative Assembly we do not use generative AI to create game assets, including AI-generated art,” Collum writes. “We demand the same of any external developers we work with. The situation with Shogun 2: Complete Edition is being investigated.”
Collum does note that the studio allows devs to “use AI tools where they help our craftspeople do their best work.” He clarifies further: “For me, the principle is pretty simple: AI can support the creator. It shouldn’t replace the creator. I don’t believe that AI can replace the human experience, judgment, and creativity that awesome experiences come from.” He believes, however, that AI tools can “absolutely” assist “analysis, debugging, or speedy prototyping so our experts can focus on making incredible games.”
For the time being, that’s all CA has to say, although Collum promises, “We’ll talk to you again when we have something meaningful to tell you.” For the time being, the original version of Total War Shogun 2 has returned, although this whole situation has left a tarnished mark on what was previously one of the best-regarded entries in the series. No matter how well CA manages to polish the situation, I’m not sure that will ever be completely scrubbed out.