"This was not a Creative Assembly developed game": Total War boss points the finger at external partner for Shogun 2 Complete Edition disaster
Total War’s vice president attributes the troubled *Shogun 2 Complete Edition* release to an external partner and clarifies the studio’s stance on generative AI.
Total War: Shogun 2’s remastered Complete Edition was withdrawn from Steam last week following widespread technical issues and complaints over AI-generated art. Creative Assembly vice president Roger Collum issued a public apology, acknowledging player frustration while shifting responsibility to an unnamed external developer. He emphasized that the game was not internally developed by Creative Assembly and lacked their standard quality controls. Collum’s statement reflects the studio’s broader concerns about oversight and accountability in outsourced projects.
Collum confirmed that Creative Assembly does not use generative AI to create game assets or art, though the studio permits its use for tasks such as analysis, debugging, or prototyping. He stressed that external partners are expected to adhere to the same standards, framing the issue as a breach of Creative Assembly’s policies. The vice president’s remarks aim to distance the studio from the Complete Edition’s shortcomings while addressing growing industry scrutiny of AI tools in game development.
The external partner, tentatively identified as Mataboo Games via Steam credits, is now collaborating with Sega and a small team of senior Creative Assembly developers to resolve the issues. Collum outlined that further details on corrective measures would be shared in due course, though no timeline was provided. The ongoing investigation underscores the challenges of managing third-party development while maintaining franchise integrity.
In a separate appeal, Collum urged fans to refrain from harassing individual developers, warning that such behavior could limit future transparency. He reiterated that the studio’s community teams and designers were acting under company directives. Meanwhile, the original *Shogun 2* Steam page has been reinstated while the Complete Edition remains unavailable, with its page still displaying “overwhelmingly negative” reviews.