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

is a senior reporter covering technology, gaming, and more. He joined The Verge in 2019 after nearly two years at Techmeme.

Sega is removing Total War: Shogun 2 — Complete Edition from storefronts following a disastrous launch where users complained about issues like bugs and upscaling that appears to have been done by AI.

Complete Edition, a remaster of the 2011 strategy game, launched on Tuesday, and it bundled the main game and all of its DLC with promised upgrades including “improved visuals,” “1440p and 4K UI scaling,” and modernized controls. It has an “Overwhelmingly Negative” rating on Steam, where it has already been pulled, and posts on Reddit showcase artwork that users believe AI messed up.

“We’re aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards,” Sega and developer Creative Assembly wrote in a post. “We’ve seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be.” The two companies say they will “reinstate the original game,” and existing owners will “still be able to access” Complete Edition.

Sega and Creative Assembly say that they 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.” A studio called Mataboo is also listed as a developer for the game on Steam, and Mataboo highlights its work on the game on its website.

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