Creative Assembly Responds to Shogun 2 Remaster Issues with Blame Game

More than a week after the disastrous launch of the so-called “updated, enhanced, and complete version” of Total War: Shogun 2, which was promptly pulled from sale, the developers at Creative Assembly have finally spoken up. In a forum post, Roger Collum, the vice president of the Total War division, acknowledged that the remastered game “did not meet the bar” and expressed that both players and the studio share feelings of anger and disappointment regarding the release. He also attempted to clarify the studio’s stance on AI usage, but his comments seemed to deflect responsibility.

Shogun 2, often hailed as one of the greatest strategy games ever made, suffered significant damage to its reputation with the release of the Complete Edition. Players flooded Steam with overwhelmingly negative reviews, criticizing its poor visuals and performance, and it was soon revealed that the game was filled with AI-upscaled versions of its original artwork. Despite attempts to reach out for clarification, the studio’s forum post marks the first official response to the situation.

Collum was quick to distance Creative Assembly from the update, stating, “this was not a Creative Assembly developed game,” and emphasized that “we took our eyes off its external development.” While he didn’t name the external developer, it was clear he was referring to Mataboo, as he noted that “all our teams [are] focused on our next big projects.” He did acknowledge, however, that “Total War is our franchise and our name is on it.”

He described the team at Creative Assembly as passionate craftsmen dedicated to delivering quality experiences to players. In light of the situation, he mentioned that a small team of senior developers has been assembled to collaborate with Sega and the external developer on the next steps. A particularly telling part of his statement was that, since the game was remastered by a third party, “it wasn’t subject to our same internal reviews and quality assurance,” raising the question of why that was the case.

Regarding AI usage in the remaster, Collum was also quick to clarify the studio’s position. “I want to be very clear on the studio-wide stance on generative AI,” he stated, emphasizing that Creative Assembly is a craft studio that values human creativity over technological replacement. He confirmed, “At Creative Assembly we do not use generative AI to create game assets including AI-generated art,” and insisted that the same standards apply to any external developers they partner with. The situation with Shogun: Complete Edition is currently under investigation.

However, he did mention that Creative Assembly utilizes AI tools to assist their developers in enhancing their work. “AI can support the creator. It shouldn’t replace the creator,” he explained, noting that AI can be beneficial for tasks like analysis, debugging, or rapid prototyping, allowing experts to focus on crafting exceptional games.

The AI involvement in the remastered Shogun 2 seems limited to upscaling some of the tiny assets in the original game’s encyclopedia. While the results are undeniably subpar and should not have been included, it raises questions about whether Mataboo had access to higher-resolution originals or the capability to create new art. The studio has been contacted for further clarification.

Collum concluded his post by urging the community not to direct anger or abuse toward the developers, stating, “They do not deserve, and we will not tolerate, harassment or being singled out online and personally criticized.” Instead, he suggested that criticism be directed at him, which seems a bit unreasonable. “We know we must earn your trust by making good games, and crucially, by how we respond when we get things wrong. We’re human, we will get things wrong, and I promise as long as I’m here, when that happens, we’ll hold our hands up and try to make it right.”

While the message about treating people with kindness is commendable, the effort to shift blame feels misplaced. It’s puzzling that a game as significant as Shogun 2 would be handed off to an external company without oversight from its original creators before its release—especially when the original version was pulled from sale. Collum rightly states that the responsibility lies with Creative Assembly, but it raises serious questions about the lack of attention given by both Creative Assembly and Sega to the final product.

Further inquiries have been made to understand how this situation arose, particularly given the blame directed at Mataboo.