SEGA and Creative Assembly have temporarily pulled Total War: SHOGUN 2 Complete Edition from sale, two days after the remaster launched on Steam, and reinstated the 2011 original while they investigate. The companies announced the reversal in a joint statement posted on X on October 15.
“We’re aware that Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has fallen short of both your expectations and our own standards,” the statement reads. SEGA added that it is working with platform holders to remove the game from sale and restore the original release in the meantime, and that existing owners of the Complete Edition will keep full access to the game they bought.
Overwhelmingly Negative within days
The Complete Edition launched on October 13 with all DLC, more than 50 new playable minor factions, a 64-bit upgrade and 4K interface scaling, reportedly as a $10 upgrade for owners of the original. The launch coincided with the delisting of the original Total War: SHOGUN 2 from Steam, which cut the game off from the Steam Workshop for modders.
The user response was immediate. The remaster hit Steam’s Overwhelmingly Negative rating within days, and by October 17 it sat at 15 percent positive across more than 4,000 reviews on Steam. Reviewers complained that bugs carried over from the 2011 game remain unfixed while new ones appeared, including desynced cinematic audio, broken hotkeys and frame rates well below those of recent Total War games.
Players also accused the developers of using generative AI upscaling on unit cards and interface icons without disclosure, pointing to visual errors such as hands drawn with extra fingers. The joint statement did not address those allegations, and neither SEGA nor Creative Assembly has confirmed or denied that generative AI was used.
Apology, but no timeline
“We’ve seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be,” the statement said. SEGA said it is working closely with its development partner to identify the causes of the problems and deliver improvements.
The statement gave no timeline for the fixes or for the Complete Edition’s return to storefronts. The reinstated original, released on March 14, 2011, held a 91 percent Very Positive rating across more than 22,000 Steam reviews before it was delisted.
