Sega Pulls Shogun 2 Remaster After Fan Backlash

Did you pick up Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition hoping for a trip down memory lane? Well, you're not alone if you were disappointed. Sega and Creative Assembly have now pulled the remaster from sale on Steam following a flood of complaints about its quality.

The Complete Edition launched on October 13 as a facelift for the beloved 2011 strategy classic. Sega promised "upgraded visuals," including "improved textures, models, lighting, shadows, fog and environments, alongside modern rendering, anti-aliasing and upscaling options." There were even optional 2.5D campaign movies inspired by Japanese Ukiyo-e art. Sounds great on paper, right? But fans quickly spotted art inconsistencies that some alleged were evidence of low-quality AI use. One particularly egregious example: a samurai's face replaced with a metallic texture that couldn't tell the difference between face and helmet. Ouch.

Adding insult to injury, Sega had pulled the original Shogun 2 from sale, forcing anyone who wanted to play to buy the new Complete Edition instead. The original often went for just a few dollars on sale, while this remaster was priced at $40. That's a tough sell when the upgrade itself costs $10 and introduces bugs and what looks like bad AI upscaling. As a result, the Complete Edition currently sits on an "overwhelmingly negative" user review rating on Steam.

Creative Assembly and Sega have now responded with a joint statement: "We're aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards. 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 statement also shines a light on Polish co-development studio Mataboo, which has worked on titles like The Blood of Dawnwalker and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Meanwhile, Creative Assembly has its hands full with upcoming games, including the hotly anticipated Total War: Warhammer 40,000 and Alien Isolation 2.

For now, if you already own the Complete Edition, you can still play it. But if you were holding out for a polished remaster, you'll have to wait until the issues are sorted. Will you be sticking with the original Shogun 2, or are you curious to see if the Complete Edition gets fixed? Let us know in the comments!