The Creative Assembly will focus more on offline real-time strategy games following cancellation of Hyenas

After having ceased production on Hyenas in September, SEGA says developer The Creative Assembly will shift focus back to doing what they do best: real-time strategy games. SEGA CFO and Koichi Fukazawa stated:

To put it simply, Creative Assembly was good at offline games in the RTS genre, but they took on the challenge of developing Hyenas, an online game in the FPS genre. However, although the game itself was good, we decided to cancel the development of Hyenas because we did not think it would reach a quality that would satisfy our users when we considered whether we could really operate this as a competitive online game for a long period of time.

Total War: Warhammer III announced for PC, coming late 2021

SEGA and Creative Assembly have finally announced the last part of their ‘Total War: Warhammer Trilogy’ which was planned all the way back in April 2015. Total War: Warhammer III is set to launch in late 2021 on both Steam and Epic Games Stores. Pre-orders get a free DLC “Race Pack”, kinda funny that the gaming world is OK with pre-order DLC because the studio actually got grief when the first game launched over this practice.

Hit the jump to read the press release by SEGA and check out the awesome trailer above:

SEGA’s Alien: Isolation team working on new IP, a ‘First Person Tactical Shooter’

While SEGA’s Creative Assembly is mostly known in PC circles, the company has tried its hand at making console games. First in the mid-2000s with Spartan: Total Warrior, then a few years later with Viking: Battle for Asgard and most recently with the critically acclaimed Alien: Isolation. We already knew that Creative Assembly was working a ‘multi-platform AAA blockbuster’ way back in 2015 and it seems they are still hard at work on this big title considering they are looking for a Senior UI artist for this new IP.

According to Creative Assembly’s job listing:

SEGA Europe teases that they have “exciting projects coming up”, sharing details in 2018

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SEGA Europe has been teasing new video game projects announcements via twitter the other day. So what could these mysterious projects be? We do have some past news articles that can hint at what they have up their sleeves. For example we reported back in 2015 that The Creative Assembly was working on a “multi-platform AAA blockbuster”, which would mean their return to the console space since they released Alien Isolation back in 2014. We also know that Two Point Studios (ex-Lionhead and Bullfrog) is working with SEGA Europe on a new simulation game, which is set to be announced on January 16th. There’s also that big rumor about the Shenmue HD collection is right around the corner, one of the rumors points at the port being done by UK developer Just Add Water. If that is true, then that would mean that SEGA Europe would probably be involved in handling the project. I also hear that SEGA Europe will be in charge of handling PC ports of upcoming SEGA Japan games, so I can also see them announcing a Valkyria Chronicles 4 port for the West, considering their port of the first game has almost sold a million copies. Of course, this is just my speculation based on past news articles and rumors.

But let me hand the mic over to you, what do you want to see SEGA Europe work on? SEGA Europe has been handling most of the PC stuff, including ports of last generation games like Bayonetta, Vanquish, and even created The Typing of the Dead: Overkill. Is there any other games you want to see them port? Maybe extend their porting program to modern consoles? Sound off in the comments below.

Humble Monthly Bundle has Total War: Warhammer for $12

humbletotalwarmonthlybundleSEGA has teamed up with Humble Bundle, a charity driven PC game store to offer gamers Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks. Getting Total War: Warhammer for $12 bucks is a huge deal, considering that this seems to be the lowest price for the title. But there’s more, you also unlock at least six more games at the end of the month. Last month’s bundle had big titles like X-COM 2, Ryse: Son of Rome, Abzu, and more. If you pay the monthly fee of $12 dollars now, you can download Total War: Warhammer today and start enjoying the game. Just make sure that at the end of the month, when all the games unlock, you cancel your membership or they’ll charge you for the next month.

Is Total War: Warhammer worth the $12 dollars? Well the game has mix ratings over on Steam but manage to score well with critics. Why the mix feelings from fans? Most fans say this is the best Total War game created but are a bit disappointed on how SEGA and Creative Assembly have implemented DLC. Looking at the DLC for the game I don’t blame them, having two packs costing $18.99 for new races is a bit steep. There is also a few free pieces of DLC like Grombrindal the White Dwarf and Wurrzag.

Going to be honest, I think Total War: Warhammer for $12 plus more games at the end of the month is a steal. If you like Total War or these type of strategy PC games, give it a shot. There is also a Mac compatible version for those readers not running Windows.

Total War takes over Humble Weekly Bundle

June 21st, 2010 @ 13:31:54
It seems that SEGA and The Creative Assembly are offering their titles once again as bundles on the popular ‘pay for what you want’ model of Humble Bundle. Not only that, you can set how much money goes to the publisher (SEGA), Humble Bundle and how much is given to charities. This bundle is supporting Special Effect: The Gamer’s Charity, Willow, Walking with the Wounded, and BLES.

Pay what you want (at least $1) you get: 

  • Medieval II: Total War Collection 
  • Viking: Battle for Asgard
  • Shogun: Total War Collection
  • Total War: Rome OST
  • Total War: WARHAMMER Illustrated Campaign Map
  • Total War: ARENA 30 Days Premium Account
  • Total War Battles: Kingdom
  • Total War eBooks

Total War: Warhammer developer ‘disheartened’ that fans dislike pre-order DLC

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The whole downloadable content thing is a touchy subject, in practice it should be good. Think about it, you get more content for a game you already love but most fans have been finding stuff like ‘pre-order DLC’ to be more of a rip off due to forcing users to investing in a game that hasn’t been reviewed or that we don’t know the quality of the title.

SEGA’s Creative Assembly announced that the Chaos race, a important fraction in the Warhammer universe, would only be unlocked if users pre-ordered their Total War: Warhammer video game. This obviously pissed off fans, since most Total War fans trusted Creative Assembly back in 2013 when Total War: Rome 2 (which had similar pre-order deals) smashed pre-order records; sadly the game had a bad launch. Creative Assembly did the same with Total War: Attila and Alien: Isolation, offering big pre-order exclusives that many fans felt should have just been part of the base package.

In a interview with Eurogamer, Game Designer for Total War: Warhammer Rich Aldridge tries to explain why they decided to put Chaos as a pre-order race. According to them if they didn’t get it out as pre-order content, they would have to charge later on as DLC. As much as I dislike pre-order DLC, it isn’t as bad now considering that Steam offers refunds on pre-orders if you dislike the game. What really ticks me off is all the DLC they are planning after the release. Is it too hard to buy a complete game for $60 dollars and not get nickel and dimed at every turn?

 

Alien: Isolation mod gets rid of the alien

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Imagine if you played Alien: Isolation without the alien hunting you down, that would be crazy. That would only leave you with, well, isolation.

That is the point of this mod by Steam user [Lebowski]-=ThArK=- which technically doesn’t remove the alien from the map, but makes it immobile in a vent. Meaning that you will be able to run around and take in the retro future art without being scared of being hunted down.

You can go ahead and check out the mod here.

[Via: Eurogamer]

SEGA announces a Total War: Warhammer collectors edition

WarhammerTotalWarHighKingEditionThe war is coming to PC on April 28th, 2016 and SEGA have given out a few more details about what you can expect when the game comes out including a new collectors edition. Users that buy the game get the game’s first DLC for free.

The game will have three versions available: The standard edition that comes with the game, the limited edition with the steelbook plus printed strategy guide and the ‘High King Edition’ which comes with all the stuff pictured above!

SEGA has also shown off the latest DLC that comes for free for people that are pre-ordering/day one buying the game: check out the Chaos Warriors Race trailer. What do you guys think about this collectors edition? Tempting?

[Source: IGN]

Total War: Warhammer – Battle of Blackfire Pass Walkthrough (Pre-Alpha Footage)

The Creative Assembly today released the first in-game, pre-alpha footage of Total War: Warhammer. This scripted walkthrough demonstrates a Legendary battle lifted from Warhammer lore; The Battle of Blackfire Pass. This walkthrough showcasing the Empire (Humans) and Greenskins (Orcs and Goblins)the battle lasts approximately ten minutes, featuring new game mechanics and units never before seen in a Total War game. Watch as shamans cast huge magical spells; colossal spiders eat men and spit out their swords; wyvern and gryphons do battle in the skies above while line infantry clash below. It’s a big change to the historic Total War formula and one I’m excited to see more of.

The first part of the Total War: Warhammer trilogy will release in 2016 for PC.

Creative Assembly is celebrating 15 Years of Total War

Human history is a bloody and violent one. Kingdoms and empires have risen and fallen at the edge of a sword. From the time we first sharpen flint we’ve been a pretty stabby lot– thank goodness for that! Total War simply couldn’t exist without it. Thanks to SEGA and Creative Assembly we can relive our ancestors violent, tyrannical and stabby ways in a fun game! Yay!

The Total War franchise is celebrating its 15 year anniversary in 2015! Total War spans 11 games, over 2000 years of historical warfare and an incredible estimated 4.8 billion battles waged in the last 15 years. To celebrate this milestone SEGA and Creative Assembly have released a trailer (see above) to reflect on their own history and give us a hint of what’s to come.

If you visit the EGX Rezzed show in London this weekend you’ll be able to play both retro and modern titles spanning 15 years of Total War history. Plus a ‘huge’ Total War prize giveaway! See you on the battlefield!

The Creative Assembly working on new “multi-platform AAA blockbuster”

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It seems SEGA’s British developer has had a new project in the works as a recent job posting has revealed that the team is looking to hire a new staff member. Due to the nature of the prospective job asking for experience in “Experience of development on XB1, PS4 and PC platforms”, we can rule out this being some sort of Total War title (Indeed with Attila having just released and with Total War: Warhammer on the horizon, it seems the PC division already has it’s hands full) and might indicate a ditching of the last generation platforms Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. Could this be a sequel to Alien: Isolation? Very likely considering the sales of the title exceeded over 1.7 million as of December 31st 2014 and is in fact, launch aligned, the most successful Alien title SEGA has published in the third party era.

Furthermore the job posting is for “online/multiplayer programmer” which I’m sure is going to raise a few eyebrows for those hoping for an Alien: Isolation sequel with worries SEGA may introduce more prominent gunplay. It is worth noting however that Alien: Isolation began it’s life as a mulitplayer title where one player took the role of the Alien while the others had to hide from the “perfect organism” Considering the success of Alien: Isolation and the awards garnered, I would imagine SEGA would be reluctant to fiddle around with the formula. Personally speaking, Alien: Isolation was my Game of the Year and I’m very much interested in either a sequel or a new IP from the Creative Assembly’s console team.

Source: PC Gamer

Alien: Isolation leads BAFTA Games Awards 2015 with six nominations

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The BAFTA Games Awards nominees for the 2015 ceremony have been revealed, and lo and behold SEGA leads the pack with six nominations! Seems last year’s Alien: Isolation made quite the impression, as The Creative Assembly’s survival horror game is up for awards for Audio Achievement, Best Game, British Game, Game Design, Game Innovation, and Music. The slew of awards was no surprise to us here at SEGAbits, as we loved the game so much we gave it a glowing review and named it one of our favorite SEGA games of 2014. Congrats to SEGA and The Creative Assembly on the nominations, and stay tuned to SEGAbits to see how they cleaned up once the winners are revealed on March 12th!

The Creative Assembly’s first Warhammer game to be Total War: Warhammer

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Over two years ago SEGA announced that they and The Creative Assembly had partnered with Games Workshop to make Warhammer games. Now, seemingly not long before the game is supposed to be officially announced, we know what the first game to come out of this deal is. Total War Center forum member StormOfRazors had received the book: “The Art of Total War” about eleven days before its intended release date of January 23rd. And in it he noticed a passing mention of Creative Assembly’s Warhammer game.

As it turns out, the game will combine Total War with the Warhammer series in Total War: Warhammer. Seeing how this book is coming out in a little more than a week, hopefully SEGA will give us a good look at this game pretty soon.

Watch SEGA and The Creative Assembly’s cinematic trailer for Total War: ATTILA

Announced in September of this year, SEGA and The Creative Assembly’s Total War: ATTILA is set to invade PCs in 2015. SEGA sent along the following press release to accompany the new trailer:

NEW CINEMATIC TRAILER FOR TOTAL WAR: ATTILA HERALDS THE COMING OF THE APOCALYPSE

“And I saw, and behold a white horse, and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him, and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.” – Revelation 6:2

As the world descends into the mists of the Dark Ages, civilization begins to crumble. Early Christians of Western Europe clamor to repent, stricken by looming omens of a divine apocalypse. In this climate of turmoil, the Eastern Roman Empire stands at a crossroads.

Secure behind the impenetrable walls of Constantinople, there are opportunities for fresh conquest. But with the warlike Visigoths to the North, the heathen Sassanids to the East, and their closest ally to the west stretched thin and tearing itself apart in its greed, is now truly the time to ride out and expand the Empire? And who will rightfully wear the crown?

Total War™: ATTILA is due for release in 2015. To follow The Four Horsemen and see how key themes of these cinematic trailers created using the ATTILA engine are brought to life in gameplay, subscribe to our YouTube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/user/thecreativeassembly