Shogun 2 Remaster Is Very Bad, Sega Removes It From Sale and Brings Back the Original Version

Sega Admits Shogun 2 - Complete Edition "fell short of both your expectations and our standards," so it is going back to the drawing board.

Sega admits that Shogun 2 - Complete Edition "falls short of both your expectations and our standards," so it's back to the drawing board.

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Just two days after the disastrous release of Total War: Shogun 2 - Complete Edition, Sega says it's removing the game from sale and bringing back the original version until things are resolved.

In September, Sega announced a remaster of Total War: Shogun 2, which is set to release just one month later. Sean Martin, PC Gamer's number one showrunner, was thrilled.

In October, Shogun Sean took the remastered version for a test run and was not entirely impressed: "Any reason to return to Shogun 2 in 2026 is laudable, but I just wish the full version was more expansive and necessary than leaving things unfinished."

The next day, Shogun 2 Complete Edition launched on Steam, and it was ugly: thousands of negative user reviews caused by old bugs, ignored quality-of-life complaints, and, perhaps worst of all, accusations of unknown use of generative AI.

Adding insult to injury, Sega pulled the original before launching the Compete version.

Which brings us to this: After two days of silence, Sega has finally made a move: "The current experience is not where it needs to be," it says, and so it's "working with platform owners to remove the game from sale and bring back the original game while it investigates the issues."

Anyone who purchased Shogun 2 - Complete Edition will still have access to it, but it's unclear how (or if) Sega will enable them to return to the original game.

Taking Shogun 2 - Complete Edition off sale and bringing back the original is obviously the right move, and today's message promises improvements to the game to bring it up to par, so hopefully we'll see some of the more obvious bugs and quality of life issues fixed.

But all of this is still a pretty bad look for Creative Assembly, which has had an up-and-down history with its games and players over the years. It's a shame that it comes so soon after the company's successful launch of the Lords of the End Times expansion for Total War: Warhammer, which has been widely acclaimed.

The best Total War game is getting a remaster with 50 new games, modern visuals, and full Japanese audio.

Shogun 2 Complete Edition is recreating all the cinematics in traditional Japanese wooden style

The announcement of Total War: Warhammer 40k also has a lot of RTS fans, and WH40K sickos, over-excited, and nonsense like this really kills the wind: if Shogun 2 - Complete Edition is allowed out the door under these circumstances, how are fans supposed to expect anything better in the future?

A number of fans have also noted that in 2024, the Aegis-CWA union accused Sega of outsourcing Q&A and some localization services, which led to the firing of 61 people.

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As I write this, Shogun 2 - Complete Edition remains available for purchase on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store — Sega has not specified when it will be removed. It also has yet to respond to the accusations of the general's use of AI in Shogun 2 - Complete Edition - I've reached out to ask about that and will update if I hear back.

Andy has been gaming on PCs since he was a teenager, starting with text-adventure and primitive action games on the 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 longtime love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He started writing video game news for The Escapist in 2007 and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until he joined the famous PC Gamer community in 2014. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. A lot of Henry Cavill.

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