Creative Assembly and Sega have pulled Total War: Shogun 2 — Complete Edition from Steam after a raft of complaints about the quality of the remaster.
Released on October 13, this facelift for the much-loved 2011 strategy classic should have been a slam dunk for Creative Assembly. Sega had trumpeted "upgraded visuals," which include "improved textures, models, lighting, shadows, fog and environments, alongside modern rendering, anti-aliasing and upscaling options." The game also has optional 2.5D campaign movies inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e art.
But fans quickly noticed art inconsistencies that some alleged were evidence of low quality AI use. In one image, a samurai’s face was replaced with a metallic texture that struggled to distinguish between the face and helmet. Fans also pointed out inconsistencies on the new storyboard cutscenes.
The "Complete Edition" release of Shogun 2 Total War was so badly received that it might be pulled from sale on Steam.
— Jeffrey J. Hall 🇯🇵🇺🇸 (@mrjeffu) October 15, 2026
Over the years I've had many Japan-loving international students who played the original game, but the "upgrade" has bugs and what looks like bad AI upscaling. https://t.co/4S9XEpUWBY
Compounding the issue was the fact that Sega pulled the original Shogun 2 from sale, forcing customers to buy the new Complete Edition instead if they wanted to play. The original game was often on sale for a few dollars, while this remaster was priced $40.
Total War: Shogun 2 — Complete Edition currently sits on an “overwhelmingly negative” user review rating on Steam, as customers who paid $10 to “upgrade” the game aired their grievances.
“We’re aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards,” Creative Assembly and Sega said in a joint statement. “We’ve seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be.
“As a result we are working with platform holders to remove the game from sale and to reinstate the original game while we investigate the issues. Existing owners will still be able to access and play the game.
“We are 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.”
The wording of the statement shines a light on Polish co-development studio Mataboo, which has worked on everything from The Blood of Dawnwalker to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Upcoming Creative Assembly games include the hotly anticipated Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and Alien Isolation 2.
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