Wind of change: Total War developers will stop selling blood as DLC and abandon their own launcher

Vice President of Creative Assembly Roger Collum, in an address to fans, said what awaits the Total War strategy series in the future, and shared the statistics of Total War: Warhammer III players.

Image source: Creative Assembly

Let us remember that in last year’s address to the players, Collum promised that the studio’s relationship with the audience would become “more transparent and consistent.” The first steps in this direction were taken throughout 2024:

• Free content updates were made from the Dynasties addon and the High Tides add-on for Total War: Pharaoh;
• The Thrones of Decay expansion for Total War: Warhammer III was split into three parts to give players more choice;
• Increased the pace of patch releases for Total War: Warhammer III.

Creative Assembly does not intend to stop there and is preparing several more steps to restore the trust of players:

• Blood for Total War strategies will no longer be sold as DLC – violent visual effects will be included in the base game, which will entail an increase in its age rating;
• Developers will abandon the Total launcher in order to create a seamless gaming experience and implement a mod manager;
• Access to factions as a bonus for those who pre-order will also become a thing of the past;
• Content from the Shadows of Change add-on to Total War: Warhammer III can also be purchased separately, and free updates with improvements are being prepared for the armies of Kislev, Tzeentch and Cathay.

A patch is currently in the works for the Omens of Destruction expansion for Total War: Warhammer III

As for statistics, in 2024, users played 31.3 million campaigns in Total War: Warhammer III – the most popular were those for Karl-Franz (1.65 million), Elspeth von Draken (1.44 million) and Malachi Makaisson ( 1.31 million).

The infographic below also reveals the most popular factions by region, the factions with the most and fewest wins, the deadliest weapons, and more.

Full infographics (magnification by pressing)

Collum also recalled that in 2025 the Total War franchise will celebrate its anniversary – 25 years since the release of the very first game, Shogun: Total War. As part of the celebrations, new free content and DLC are promised for Total War: Warhammer III.

According to Collum, Creative Assembly also plans to lift the veil of secrecy on future Total War games. According to the May material of the DualShockers portal, three Total Wars are in development, including Star Wars.