Sega pulls Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from sale

Sega and Creative Assembly have taken Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition off sale less than a week after it launched. In a statement posted on X, the companies admitted the release "has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards", as Eurogamer reports.

What Sega says it will do

According to the statement, Sega and Creative Assembly are working with platform holders to temporarily remove the Complete Edition from sale and to reinstate the original game while they look into the problems. They are also working with an outside development partner to find the causes and deliver improvements, so that the edition meets the quality players expect from Total War.

Two things matter most for players:

• If you already bought it, you keep it. Sega says existing owners can still access and play the game. That is the kind of situation the US Power to the Players Act is meant to address when publishers change or pull digital games.
• There is no return date. The statement does not say what exactly went wrong or when the Complete Edition will be back on sale.

The AI question

Sega's statement does not use the word AI. Many players, however, believe generative AI is behind the problems, pointing to what they describe as poor upscaling and other signs of AI-made assets. Neither Sega nor Creative Assembly has confirmed or denied that. Upscaled textures are easiest to spot at high resolutions, which is one reason many strategy players care so much about the monitor they play on.

The backlash fits a wider pattern. Eurogamer notes that Level-5's CEO apologised last month after confirming that generative AI was used in the studio's showcase, while companies such as Krafton, Square Enix and EA have invested heavily in AI tools. For now, Shogun 2 fans who want the game should look for the original version once Sega restores it.