Creative Assembly teases something new for Total War: Rome 2

Total War: Rome 2 came out in September 2013, which by my reckoning means that it's a little over four years old. A year later, the Emperor Edition was released, and then few months after that the Wrath of Sparta campaign pack was put out. And that was the end of it. Until today. 

That's the first explicit sign of activity of the Total War: Rome 2 front, but it's actually not the first recent suggestion of something new coming to something old. Last week, developer Creative Assembly posted an update on its upcoming Historical projects, "because you're about to hear a lot more about them."   

"We’re working on a campaign expansion for one of our older games, probably the biggest historical one CA’s done we think. We’ve been working on our project for the best part of a year, and with not long to go we’re well into testing now with nearly all the content in. And yes, it’s going to be the next Total War announcement, which is exciting for us!" game director Maya Georgieva said.

"[It's] the first time we’ve gone back to a game so long after release. That in itself is very new territory and something we’re keen to explore as a studio, because it opens up lots of exciting future projects if it’s successful. There’s a lot of people still playing this particular game, but there’s also lot more we haven’t even touched in that era yet, some really incredible stories and events that defined history."

There are currently more than 6900 people playing Total War: Rome 2, according to SteamCharts, down a bit from a daily peak of nearly 7500—a remarkable number for a game of that vintage, and one that I'd say easily qualifies as "a lot of people still playing."   

It seems pretty clear, then, that Total War: Rome 2 is on the comeback trail, although we'll have to wait a little longer to see exactly what that means. Based on the look of that crumbling logo, my guess is that it's nothing good.    

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.