“It was not a game developed by Creative Assembly”: Total War boss points the finger at an external partner for the disaster of Shogun 2 Complete Edition

Last week, Creative Assembly and Sega pulled the Complete Remastered Edition of Total War: Shogun 2 from Steam, after an avalanche of complaints about technical issues and AI-generated artwork. Today, Total War vice president Roger Collum wrote a personal apology, while placing some of the blame on an unnamed external partner. He also clarified Creative Assembly’s stance on generative AI, conceding that the studio uses it to help with “rapid analysis, debugging, or prototyping” but is against its use to generate game assets and artwork.

“I understand that many of you are angry and disappointed with the release status of Shogun 2: Complete Edition,” Collum wrote on the official Twar Reddit site. “So did we, especially the team members who have been putting everything into the Total War games for years, even decades. This was not a game developed by Creative Assembly. It was not subject to our same internal reviews and quality assurance. We took our eyes off its external development, with all of our teams focused on our next big projects. However, regardless of development, Total War is our franchise and our name is on it.”

Again, Collum doesn’t name the external developer in question, but Mataboo Games is listed as co-developers on the Steam page. Collum says SEGA and a small team of senior developers are working with the external team on “next steps”, with details to follow. In the meantime, he has some general thoughts on how and when Dwarves use generative AI tools.

“I want to be very clear about the studio’s position on generative AI, because I know there are many questions about our position,” Collum writes. “We are a craft studio. Our games are made by incredibly talented people and we do not believe in a world where technology replaces human creativity. At Creative Assembly, we do not use generative AI to create game assets, including AI-generated artwork. We demand the same from all external developers we work with. The situation with Shogun 2: Complete Edition is under investigation.”

Collum adds that Creative Assembly does, however, use AI tools for “support” purposes. “It shouldn’t replace the creator,” he says. “I don’t believe AI can replace the human experience, judgment, and creativity that gives rise to awesome experiences. Can AI tools help with analysis, debugging, or rapid prototyping so our experts can focus on creating amazing games? Absolutely.”

Collum ends his message by asking people not to abuse individual Total War developers. “Our community teams, QA, designers, and everyone are doing their jobs, as requested by the company,” Collum writes. “Their safety is our priority. They do not deserve, and we will not tolerate, harassment or being singled out online and personally criticized.” Collum warns that if you’re mean to developers, the studio may need to be less transparent in the future.

I’m not sure I entirely buy the argument about “taking your eyes off” the game, given that Creative Assembly and Sega have released a number of trailers and marketing for it and sent out an FAQ detailing, among other things, how it would affect mods. Although not available for purchase, the Complete Edition’s Steam page is still live at the time of writing with “extremely negative” reviews. Creative Assembly and Sega have reestablished the original game’s Steam page as they work to shape the CE.