Totally Warhammer

If Total War: Warhammer III was somehow not big enough already, Creative Assembly has pulled back the curtain on their plans for the rest of the year ?and beyond. It’s a lot, but I’ll do my best to give you the rundown.

[caption id="attachment_378060" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Sega[/caption]

Update 3.1 will precede Update 4.0, which will arrive this Summer. The interim update includes bug fixes, b??ut also adds a legendary lord and some units of renown. Beyond that, it will also add the Chaos Dwarfs as an Immortal Empires endgame scenario. The full patch will come alongside the next round of paid DLC, Shadows of Change, which will focus on the Tzeentch, Cathay, and Kislev factions. They also plan on updating campaign AI and tweaking the settlement battles as part of their ongoing effort to find a happy medium.

Afterward, 4.1 will roll out the red carpet for update 5.0 in Winter 2023. Once again, the Total War: Warhammer III interim patch will focus on bug fixes. 5.0? will bring with it another paid DLC, Thrones of Decay, which focuses on Nurgle, the Empire, and the Dwarfs. Another big part of the patch is another legendary artifact, the Nemesis Crown.

After the 5.1 patch, another big update is planned for the Spring of 2024. It will be ??similar to the other big updates and will include a focus on three more races. Since none of the ones I favor (Dark Elves, Vampires, Beastmen) have been mentioned, I hope to see them in the last one. Unfortunately, that means I’ll be waiting a while.

If you haven’t played Total War: Warhammer III yet, just know that even the base game is absolutely massive. The fact that they rolled in Immortal Empires for any owner of the title (rather than requiring you to own the previous titles, as well) just highlights how huge it is. The organizational skills required to keep this all together at Creative Assembly must be incredible?.

Total War: Warhammer III is currently available for PC.

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For the Druchii!

Sega and Creative Assembly have announced that one of the most lavishly massive campaigns for any strategy game is finally exiting the beta stage for Total War: Warhammer III. Immortal Empires merges the worlds of all three Total War: Warhammer games into one giant map, complete wi??th ever?y faction released across the series.

February 17th marks a full year since the launch of Total War: Warhammer III. During that time, the team has been plucking away at the Immortal Empires mode within it, providing it to players to collect feedback on. They’ve made tweaks and additions, such as end-game goals, and now it’s time to see it in its ??completed glory.

Best yet, anyone who owns Total War: Warhammer III will have access to the campaign mode. Previously, you had to own its two predecessors in order to jam all the worlds together. There is still one caveat; you’ll need to own the previous games to actually play as many of the factions held within them. Likewise, DLC still works the same, requiring you to purchase any additional factions outside the ones contained within the base game. That sounds like it sucks, but there are a lot of factions, and you’ll still get to see and int??eract with them, even if you don’t own them. It’s probably better if you just find the ones you think are most interesting and purchase those exclusively, rather than intimidating yourself by trying to purcha??se everything at once.

//youtu.be/Qqhc3mK06r0

I regret not getting into the Total War: Warhammer games earlier because they are some fantastic strategy titles. Unlike many earlier iterations of the Total War series, every faction is extremely unique, not just in units but also in playstyle and campaign goals. The sheer amount of variety in the game is staggering, even if y??ou’re just playing the base product.

Total War: Warhammer III is available for Windows, MacOS, and Linux. The Immortal Empires campaign is a free u?pdate for everyone who owns the base game.

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The biggest month for games just got bigger

Sure, why not? Pile 'em on. More games for the game god. After slipping out of 2021, Creative Assembly has slapped a new date on Total War: Warhammer III. The army-clashing strategy spectacle is confirm?ed? for a February 17, 2022 launch on PC and Game Pass.

Along with the launch news, the team also put out a trail?er for the Ogre Kingdoms, which is a wonderfully vile sight. This content �including the Legendary Lords Greasus Goldtooth & Skrag the Slaughterer �will be an "early adopter" pre-order incentive called the Ogre Kingdoms Race Pack. That's how you?? can play as the big lugs in the campaign.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bbp98oMsjA

Of course, "PC" can mean a few very different things these days. In this case, you'll have a few places to play Total War: Warhammer III �on Steam, the Epic Games Store, the Microsoft Store, and potentially best of all, with Xbox Game Pass for PC.

Yep, this is a day-one Game Pass get. Fla??unt it if you've got it.

As much as I appreciate the value of having lots of significant games roped into Game Pass, you can count me among the folks (our numbers are rising!) who aren't crazy about the PC-specific experience. It's less than ideal compared to Game Pass's console counterpart, but I'm willing to put up with UX issues and nitpicks on PC if the games are worthwhile �and for many people, Total War: Warhammer III will be worth it.

"If you own Warhammer III through Game Pass for PC, you will also be able to purchase future DLC for it through the Microsoft Store, as well as access Free-LC as it becomes available," according to Creative Assembly. Another tidbit before you're in too deep: "Currently it’s not possible to track the different Total War: Warhammer content you own across different storefronts. So, for example, if you buy Total War: Warhammer on the Epic Games Store, you wil?l also need to buy the DLC on the Epic Games Store in order to use ??it."

As for February 2022, goodness gracious. I promise not to do this every time a game slips into that month, but... there's Dying Light 2, King of Fighters XV, Horizon Forbidden West, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, Sifu, Elden Ring, and Saints Row back-to-back. Among others!

We trul??y can't play 'em all, which is frustrating for us as folks covering games, but probably not a huge bother for many of you. It's a nice problem to be spoiled for choice, and I'm pumped for people who are getting an excitin??g new game in their favorite series.

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Creative Assembly didn't want to 'rush to the finish line,' so early 2022 is the new target

There's one more title for the packed "early 2022" video game release schedule, as Total War: Warhammer III needs additional development time. If you were expecting to sink a bunch of late nights into the game this year, your calendar just got a lot lighter.

Creative Assembly announced the delay on Twitter this morning with a note from chief product officer Ro??b Bartholomew:

"With nearly a decade of development on the Total War: Warhammer trilogy behind us, it feels surreal to see its culminating chapter so close to release. While it's tempting to rush to the finish line as it comes into view, we have made the decision to give it a little more time by moving the launch of Total War: Warhammer III from 2021 to early 2022."

"The wait won't be much longer, and we'll have plenty of new information for you in the meantime. The new date will make for a stronger release and the best first step into a new era for Total War: Warhammer. We don't consider this release the end of our trilogy, but the start of years of content and support as we continue to bring the jaw-dropping scale of Games Workshop's fantasy universe to Total War."

As we've seen with other big games that didn't nail their l?aunches and had to try and juggle fixes with previously planned post-release updates and new content, it's best to just get it right �or as close to right �on day one. Easier said than done, of course.

It seems as if many fans had already read the room, and were expecting a potential delay given the current rate at which new info about the game was being rolled out. That might soften the blow a bit. Either way, 2022 is going to be a stacked year? for games.

Next on the docket, Creative Assembly is filling in a big blank with the "global reveal" of Grand Cathay on Sept. 14. Expect to see an in-engine cinematic trailer with "lots of units."

[Update: Creative Assembly released its Grand Cathay cinematic today, along with some lore tidbits and details about the army, which is led by "immortal dragons who can t?ake human form." Given all of the new elements in play, the st?udio described the process of building out Grand Cathay with Games Workshop as "exciting and collaborative."]

//youtu.be/033FWxL22A0

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Kislev has entered the chat

Not that we were expecting any different, but after a handful of cheeky teaser videos meant to rile up fans, Creative Assembly lifted the lid on Total War: Warhammer III, and boy does it look sick.

As much as I feel like cinematic trailers are overplayed in this industry, there's still a place for them, especially for a game like Total War: Warhammer III that??'s building on a firmly-established?? foundation. Player support has "pushed our ambition to new heights," as game director Ian Roxburgh puts it.

The new Warhammer III campaign will revolve around the forces of Kislev and Cathay, with grisly a?ppearances from Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh, and Tzeentch. "??Each race offers a unique journey through the nightmarish Chaos Realm, culminating in an endgame that will determine the fate of the world," according to the studio. Players "will be tasked with saving or exploiting the power of a dying god."

To be clear, the setting is "around the reign of Karl Franz" an??d there are nine playable Legendary Lords.

The game is releasing in "late 2021" on Steam and the Epic Games Store, with cross-platform multiplayer planned for launch. The pre-order incentives will be?? announced down the road.

One last note plucked from the FAQ: Creative Assembly intends to release a "massive combined map that will be a huge free DLC for owners of all three games," but you'll need all three parts "through a single store." Total War: Warhammer I and II are expected to launch on the Epic Store before III.

Watch Kislev battle a Bloodthirster in the first? t?railer for Total War: Warhammer III [Warhammer Community]

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