Creative Assembly has published an official response after the October 13 release and subsequent removal of Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from Steam.
The remaster met an overwhelmingly negative reaction from critics and players, citing widespread bugs — including issues carried over from the original 2011 game — and controversy over the remaster’s use of generative-AI imagery and upscaling.
Publisher Sega removed the Complete Edition from sale and temporarily relisted the 2011 original, which had itself been pulled ahead of the remaster’s launch.
Roger Collum, vice president of the Total War franchise, posted the developer’s statement to the Steam community, acknowledging the anger and disappointment among fans and the studio.
Collum made clear that the Complete Edition was not developed in-house: the remaster was handled by an external partner and did not undergo Creative Assembly’s usual internal reviews and quality assurance processes.
He said the studio’s internal teams were focused on other projects, and as a result the external work did not receive the level of oversight the franchise normally expects.
Collum reaffirmed that, despite those arrangements, Total War remains Creative Assembly’s franchise and the studio accepts responsibility for the release bearing its name.
The statement confirms a Creative Assembly team is now working on the problematic release with the goal of restoring it to an acceptable standard before it returns to the Steam Store.
No timeline or release date for a relaunch was provided.
On the subject of artificial intelligence, Collum reiterated the studio’s position that it does not rely on generative AI for its artwork.
He explained that Creative Assembly uses AI tools selectively — for coding, analysis, and prototyping — where they help developers do better work, but not to replace human creativity or artistic judgment.
That stance was emphasized as a guiding principle: AI can support creators but should not supplant them.
The statement also appealed for criticism to be directed at leadership rather than individual team members, noting the additional pressure placed on community managers, designers, and QA leads in the wake of the launch.
Collum closed by saying the studio understands it must earn back player trust through quality work and transparent remediation, and that Creative Assembly will provide further updates when it has substantive progress to report.
Verified facts in this report: Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition launched on October 13, was pulled from Steam following negative feedback, the 2011 original was relisted by Sega, and the studio’s public remarks were issued by Roger Collum on behalf of Creative Assembly.
The remaster met an overwhelmingly negative reaction from critics and players, citing widespread bugs — including issues carried over from the original 2011 game — and controversy over the remaster’s use of generative-AI imagery and upscaling.
Publisher Sega removed the Complete Edition from sale and temporarily relisted the 2011 original, which had itself been pulled ahead of the remaster’s launch.
Roger Collum, vice president of the Total War franchise, posted the developer’s statement to the Steam community, acknowledging the anger and disappointment among fans and the studio.
Collum made clear that the Complete Edition was not developed in-house: the remaster was handled by an external partner and did not undergo Creative Assembly’s usual internal reviews and quality assurance processes.
He said the studio’s internal teams were focused on other projects, and as a result the external work did not receive the level of oversight the franchise normally expects.
Collum reaffirmed that, despite those arrangements, Total War remains Creative Assembly’s franchise and the studio accepts responsibility for the release bearing its name.
The statement confirms a Creative Assembly team is now working on the problematic release with the goal of restoring it to an acceptable standard before it returns to the Steam Store.
No timeline or release date for a relaunch was provided.
On the subject of artificial intelligence, Collum reiterated the studio’s position that it does not rely on generative AI for its artwork.
He explained that Creative Assembly uses AI tools selectively — for coding, analysis, and prototyping — where they help developers do better work, but not to replace human creativity or artistic judgment.
That stance was emphasized as a guiding principle: AI can support creators but should not supplant them.
The statement also appealed for criticism to be directed at leadership rather than individual team members, noting the additional pressure placed on community managers, designers, and QA leads in the wake of the launch.
Collum closed by saying the studio understands it must earn back player trust through quality work and transparent remediation, and that Creative Assembly will provide further updates when it has substantive progress to report.
Verified facts in this report: Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition launched on October 13, was pulled from Steam following negative feedback, the 2011 original was relisted by Sega, and the studio’s public remarks were issued by Roger Collum on behalf of Creative Assembly.
