SEGA is pulling Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition from stores following a wave of criticism over the remaster’s technical problems, visual changes, and overall quality. The decision comes just days after its October 13 launch, with the publisher acknowledging that the updated release has fallen short of expectations.
In a statement shared on October 15, SEGA and Creative Assembly confirmed that they are working with platform holders to temporarily remove the game from sale while investigating the issues. The companies also intend to reinstate the original 2011 release, which had been removed from sale ahead of the Complete Edition’s arrival.
The backlash has centred on performance problems, bugs, and concerns over the remaster’s artwork, with players questioning whether AI-based upscaling was used on certain assets. Some players have also pointed to existing bugs that remain unresolved, undermining the appeal of a release intended to modernize the acclaimed strategy game.
The response has been particularly harsh on Steam, where Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition received an Overwhelmingly Negative user rating following its launch. Rather than providing the definitive version of the game that fans had hoped for, the release has instead prompted questions about the quality of the remastering process.
“We agree that the current experience is not where it needs to be,” SEGA stated, adding that it is working closely with its development partner to identify the causes of the problems and deliver improvements.
Players who have already purchased Total War: Shogun 2 Complete Edition will retain access to the game while SEGA works on addressing the issues. However, the publisher has not announced a timeline for its return to storefronts.
For now, the reinstatement of the original Total War: Shogun 2 offers a potential alternative for those who would rather revisit the 2011 release than wait for the updated edition to improve. Whether the Complete Edition can recover from its troubled launch will depend on how effectively SEGA and Creative Assembly address the complaints.