Controversial Total War Remaster Being Delisted From Steam After AI Allegations

The remastered Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition has faced severe backlash from players over widespread bugs and alleged AI-generated visuals, prompting Sega and Creative Assembly to announce its temporary removal from Steam. In a statement on X, the companies acknowledged the game had fallen short of expectations and standards, vowing to work with platform holders to pull it from sale and reinstate the original version during their investigation. Sega emphasized collaboration with its development partner, Mataboo, to identify causes of the problems and deliver improvements to meet Total War’s quality standards.

Sega’s decision follows a pattern of replacing older titles with updated versions that have drawn criticism from fans, including the divisive director’s cut of Yakuza 0 last December. The Oct. 13 re-release of Shogun 2 currently holds an Overwhelmingly Negative rating on Steam, with only 17% of players approving. Players report visual and gameplay bugs absent in the original, alongside claims of AI-generated content, such as missing digits and limbs in new cutscenes and blurry textures.

User reviews highlight severe issues, with tags like “Artificial Intelligence” and “Psychological Horror” among the most popular. The remaster was marketed as a 64-bit upgrade featuring improved visuals, updated lighting, shadows, textures, 1440p and 4K UI scaling, modernized controls, Japanese and Chinese voice acting, and newly playable factions. Despite these promises, the Steam page does not disclose the use of AI-generated art.

Sega has not specified whether AI-generated content will be removed or if the original version will remain available for purchase once the remaster returns. The company’s response leaves open questions about refunds and long-term changes to its re-release policies for older games.