Sega and Creative Assembly have withdrawn Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale two days after its 13 October launch. In a statement posted on the game’s Steam news page on 15 October 2026, the companies said the remaster had “fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards” and that they were working with platform holders to remove it from sale and reinstate the original game while they investigate. People who already bought it can keep playing it.
What the remaster promised
The Complete Edition is credited on its Steam page to Creative Assembly and the studio MATABOO, with Sega as publisher. A changelog published on 29 September listed a 64-bit engine upgrade, interface scaling for 1440p and 4K screens, updated battle and campaign textures, DLSS and FSR 3.1 support, more than 50 newly playable minor factions, modernised battle controls and an optional cutscene style inspired by ukiyo-e prints. Owners of the 2011 game were offered a 75% discount; PCGamesN reported the full price as $39.99 / £34.99.
When the remaster arrived, the original Shogun 2 could no longer be bought on Steam, PCGamesN and TheSixthAxis reported, so new players could only buy the new version.
Bugs, performance and disputed unit art
Steam reviews turned hostile almost immediately. When we checked on 17 October, the Complete Edition’s store page showed “Overwhelmingly Negative” reviews, with 16% of 1,887 English-language reviews positive, and the notice that the game “is no longer available on the Steam store”. Players complained about bugs carried over from the original, new bugs and weak performance, TheSixthAxis and PCGamesN reported.
The most visible complaint concerned the unit cards, the illustrated portraits for each unit type. Players posted comparisons that they say show the hand-drawn originals were upscaled with generative AI tools, leaving distorted hands and blurred faces. This has not been confirmed. The publisher’s statement does not mention AI, the September changelog does not mention the unit cards, and the store page has no AI content disclosure. Neither the original artists nor the remaster’s art process have been described publicly.
No return date, and the 2011 original is back
The statement gives no timeline for the Complete Edition’s return and does not mention refunds. It says Sega and Creative Assembly are working with their development partner to find the causes, deliver improvements and bring the remaster up to the standard players expect from Total War. On 17 October the original Total War: Shogun 2 was available to buy on Steam again.
Remasters often replace the game they update, and Shogun 2 shows the risk: when players judge the new version worse, removing the old one leaves them no alternative. Sega pulled the game within two days rather than keep it on sale while promising patches. The unit-card dispute also shows how closely players now inspect remastered art for signs of AI tools, even when a publisher has disclosed nothing.