GamesStrategyTotal War: PharaohAfter fans declared total war on Total War, Creative Assembly completes the apology tour with a major free expansion for Pharaoh this monthWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesStrategyTotal War: PharaohAfter fans declared total war on Total War, Creative Assembly completes the apology tour with a major free expansion for Pharaoh this monthWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Sega)
The latest entry in Creative Assembly’s long-running and storied strategy series is 2023’s Total War: Pharaoh, and unfortunately things all went a little pear-shaped.Pharaoh itself is a pretty good game, but it was no great step forward for the series and landed at a time when fans were losing patience with the pricing and value of myriad expansions, which all came to a head with both Pharaoh and a DLC called Shadows of Change for Total War: Warhammer 3.
The latter’s release especially caused a full-on explosion among players and a sustained campaign of review bombing and complaints that got nasty at the edges, with some players crossing the line and harassing CA developers. The Total War subreddit, Discord and forums were overrun for weeks with the controversy, and it ended up withCreative Assembly issuing an apology, promising to improve the DLC for players with additional content, and making a commitment to “better meet your expectations going forward” and “full transparency around the content before you see ‘Buy Now’ buttons.”
Since then the studio has been on something of a mission to repair its relationship with Total War players, which has mainly meant giving away a lot of content for free. As well as the price drop, CA further committed to making Pharaoh’s paid DLC a free update, and has now announced that Total War: Pharaoh’s Dynasties will launch on July 25.
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“From the outset of our design journey on Total War: Pharaoh, our vision has always been to deliver a grand-scale recreation of the turbulent Bronze Age Collapse; one brimming with historical intrigue, authentic representations of iconic civilisation, and a sandbox theatre that allows you to rewrite the course of human history,” said game director Todor Nikolov. “We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved and whilst this will be our final content addition, we hope it serves as a love letter that encapsulates our continued passion for this wonderful age.”
It also serves as the final stop on the Total War apology tour, and fans should perhaps acknowledge how CA has acted since late last year. The studio hasn’t just talked the talk, but addressed players' grievances in a direct and meaningful manner, taken responsibility for its mistakes, and now seems to be over-delivering with free content for a game it’s already issued partial refunds for. Players will no doubt feel they were justified in declaring total war on Total War: but maybe it’s time to call off the hounds.
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