Total War Franchise Announces Special 25th Anniversary Celebration

Total War developer Creative Assembly is planning a massive celebration for the series’ 25th anniversary from August through November, complete with a retrospective video presentation, opportunities for interaction between the development team and fans, and sneak peeks at unannounced games. The Total War franchise made its debut in June 2000 with Shogun: Total War, a historical turn-based strategy game set during Japan’s Warring States period. Since its first outing, Total War has expanded to include an impressive 16 entries, three of which are set in the high-fantasy Warhammer universe.

Creative Assembly has worked on Total War since its inception, supporting each new release with consistent updates and additional content. The Total War community is equally involved in keeping the series alive, with new mods for Total War expanding the lifespan of each entry for years beyond their release. Although this fall is poised to deliver a nostalgic celebration of Total War over the past 25 years, it’s the developer’s promises of future content that are most intriguing.

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Vice President of Total War Roger Collum announced in a forum post that Creative Assembly would be celebrating Total War‘s 25th anniversary from August to November with behind-the-scenes video content, developer live streams, game sales, multiplayer tournaments, giveaways, and Q&A sessions. The four months of Total War festivities are all leading up to the Total War: 25th Anniversary Showcase in December, which promises to unveil new games for Total War’s fantasy and history settings that are currently in development.

New Total War Games Are Currently in Development

Creative Assembly also revealed that Total War: Warhammer 3 will receive new content leading up to the 25th anniversary celebration. Patch 6.2 drops on June 17, bringing major changes to Total War: Warhammer 3‘s magic item and combat systems. The game’s next DLC, “Tides of Torment,” will bring the game’s final playable faction to Total War: Warhammer 3 in July. Although no future content beyond the DLC has been announced, Collum’s forum post does tease new additions to the Total War: Warhammer series that will be revealed during the 25th Anniversary Showcase.

With 25 years of games in the Total War series’ tenure, it’s no surprise that Creative Assembly has enough content to fill four months of celebration. Although the development team’s recent outings have been considered missteps among some fans, prompting an apology from Creative Assembly to the Total War community, the battle sim’s storied history proves that the franchise has the staying power necessary to bounce back. With the Total War: 25th Anniversary Showcase promising sneak peeks at new entries, the second half of the year could be positioned to turn the Total War series around.