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Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition Is Being Pulled From Sale
Just a few days after launch, SEGA and Creative Assembly are pulling Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Complete Edition from sale following widespread complaints surrounding bugs, performance and its updated visual assets.
The enhanced version launched on October 13, but quickly fell to an Overwhelmingly Negative Steam user rating. Shortly before SEGA announced its response, only around 19% of more than 2,000 Steam reviews recommended the game.
That reception contrasts sharply with our own Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Complete Edition review, where the underlying strategy experience remained exceptionally strong despite shortcomings in how comprehensively the 2011 original had been modernised.
SEGA now agrees that the current release is not where it needs to be.
“We’ve seen your feedback, comments, and reviews. We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be.”
The publisher says it is working with platform holders to remove the Complete Edition from sale while the problems are investigated. Existing owners will retain access to the game.
The Original SHOGUN 2 Is Coming Back Instead
Perhaps the most striking part of the reversal is what happens to the original Total War: SHOGUN 2. Ahead of the Complete Edition’s release, SEGA removed the 2011 version from standalone sale on Steam, instead bundling it and its DLC with the new edition. Existing owners could continue playing it normally.
That decision is now being undone. SEGA says the original game will be reinstated for purchase while work continues on the Complete Edition. There is currently no timeframe for when the enhanced version will return.
The situation effectively leaves SEGA returning to the version it had replaced only weeks earlier.
Bugs and AI-Upscaled Artwork Fuelled the Backlash
Complaints have covered several areas of the release. Players have reported persistent bugs, pathfinding problems and performance issues, while some long-standing problems from the original game remain unresolved. PC Gamer also criticised issues including siege pathfinding, naval AI and other quality-of-life shortcomings that survived the transition into the Complete Edition.
The updated artwork has attracted even more scrutiny. Players identified visual abnormalities in remastered unit cards and other assets that appear consistent with AI upscaling, including malformed details that were absent from the original artwork. VGC reports that AI-upscaled graphics became one of the major complaints surrounding the release.
SEGA has not confirmed that generative AI was used, so it would be premature to state that the assets were wholly AI-generated. The publisher’s official statement also does not directly address the AI allegations, referring more broadly to investigating the problems and delivering improvements.
No Date Yet for SHOGUN 2 Complete Edition’s Return
The Complete Edition was developed by MATABOO, Creative Assembly and SEGA, adding updated visuals, full Japanese voice and text support, more than 50 additional playable minor factions and bundled DLC to the original game.
Those additions were intended to give one of Total War’s most celebrated entries a more accessible modern release. Instead, SEGA now finds itself restoring the 2011 version while its replacement goes back into development.
No return date has been announced for Total War: SHOGUN 2 – Complete Edition. After being available for only two days, getting the remaster back on sale is now dependent on SEGA and its development partners resolving enough of its problems to meet the standards players expected in the first place.
