Sega pulls Total War: Shogun 2 remaster from sale following disastrous launch

Key points

• Sega is removing Total War: Shogun 2 — Complete Edition from storefronts after a launch marked by bugs and complaints about AI-upscaled artwork.
• The remaster launched Tuesday with an "Overwhelmingly Negative" Steam rating and has already been pulled from that platform.
• Sega and Creative Assembly said they will reinstate the original game and that existing owners can still access Complete Edition.

Sega is pulling Total War: Shogun 2 — Complete Edition from sale after a troubled launch. The Complete Edition, a remaster of the 2011 strategy game, arrived on Tuesday and has already been removed from Steam, where it holds an "Overwhelmingly Negative" rating.

The package bundled the base game and all its DLC with promised upgrades including "improved visuals," "1440p and 4K UI scaling," and modernized controls. Users complained about bugs and about upscaling that appears to have been done by AI, and Reddit posts highlighted artwork users believe AI messed up.

What Sega and Creative Assembly said

In a post, Sega and developer Creative Assembly wrote that they were aware the Complete Edition "has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards," adding that they had seen feedback and reviews and agreed the current experience was not where it needed to be.

The two companies said they will "reinstate the original game," and that existing owners will "still be able to access" Complete Edition. They also said they are working closely with their development partner to identify the causes of the problems and deliver improvements.

We’re aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards

— Sega and Creative Assembly

Development partner listed

A studio called Mataboo is listed as a developer for the game on Steam, and Mataboo highlights its work on the game on its website.