Sega and Creative Assembly are pulling Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale just two days after it launched, and the original 2011 version of the strategy game is coming back to storefronts while the companies work out what went wrong.
In a joint statement signed “SEGA & Creative Assembly” and posted on X, the companies wrote: “We’re aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards. We’ve seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be.” They said they are “working with platform holders to remove the game from sale and to reinstate the original game while we investigate the issues,” and added that “existing owners will still be able to access and play the game.”
The statement also says the publisher is “working closely with our development partner to identify the causes of these problems, deliver improvements, and ensure Shogun 2 – Complete Edition meets the quality standards players expect from Total War.” It gives no timeline for those fixes or for the remaster’s return to sale.
A rough two days on Steam
The Complete Edition launched October 13 as a 64-bit update promising improved visuals, lighting, shadows and textures, plus higher-resolution UI scaling. PC Gamer reports that it was quickly buried under thousands of negative Steam user reviews, driven by old bugs that were never fixed, long-standing quality-of-life complaints, and new interface problems. GameSpot reported that more than 81% of Steam reviewers were recommending against it.
Price was another sore point. GameSpot notes the remaster costs $40, with a $10 upgrade for owners of the original, and Sega removed the cheaper original from sale when the new edition arrived. That decision is now being reversed.
The generative AI accusations
Some of the loudest criticism came from players who accuse the remaster of using AI-upscaled or AI-generated art without disclosing it. Posts on X circulated unit cards that players said showed telltale signs, including a samurai whose face appears to merge into his helmet and character art with extra fingers. GameSpot, Kotaku and Polygon all reported on the allegations, and Polygon notes that no AI use is disclosed on the game’s Steam page.
Those claims remain unconfirmed. Sega and Creative Assembly’s statement does not mention AI at all, and PC Gamer says Sega had not responded to its question about the accusations. Polygon reports that the porting studio Mataboo worked with Sega on the remaster, but neither company has said what tools were used on the art.
Sega and Creative Assembly have also not said whether owners of the Complete Edition will be able to switch back to the original version, or whether the original will stay on sale once the remaster returns. When PC Gamer published its report, the Complete Edition was still listed on Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store.
