Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition gets re-release with 82% negative Steam reviews
Creative Assembly and Sega released Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition on October 13, 2026. Kotaku says 82% of early Steam reviews were negative.
- The game received 82% negative Steam reviews in its first 24 hours, according to Kotaku, and landed in Steam’s Overwhelmingly Negative category.
- Players criticized performance, bugs, mod support, visual issues, and the possible use of AI upscaling for unit cards.
What happened
Creative Assembly and Sega have released Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition as a complete version of Total War: Shogun 2, which originally launched in 2011. Kotaku lists October 13, 2026 as the release date and describes the release as an updated version of the well-known strategy series. In the reporting, the new edition is presented as a modern re-release of an older PC title that had already been available on Steam for years.
According to the same article, players reacted negatively to the launch right away. Kotaku says 82% of recent Steam reviews were negative and that the game was placed in Steam’s Overwhelmingly Negative category. That rating was tied in the article to the first 24 hours after release, making it an early snapshot. Complaints included poor performance, old and new bugs, visual problems, and mod support that players said was not working properly.
Kotaku also reports that Sega removed the game’s earlier Steam versions at the same time as the new edition. The article further says the new version is priced higher than before, although no exact figures are given in the available material. Another complaint is that unit cards may have been edited with AI upscaling without a clear disclosure. In the information provided, that remains an allegation and has not been independently confirmed.
The available details do not include exact technical specifications for the Complete Edition, a full list of changes, or an official statement from Sega or Creative Assembly addressing the criticism. What is clear is that the discussion around the release centers on the combination of a re-release, a higher price, negative Steam reviews, and questions about how the new assets were made.
Timeline
2011 — Total War: Shogun 2 originally launches as a strategy game from Creative Assembly.
2026-10-13 — Kotaku lists this date as the release date for Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition.
2026-10-13 — The new edition appears as a complete, updated version of the game.
2026-10-13 to 2026-10-14 — Kotaku reports 82% negative recent Steam reviews and an Overwhelmingly Negative status.
2026-10-13 to 2026-10-14 — Criticism focuses on performance, bugs, mod support, visual issues, and possible AI upscaling.
2026-10-13 to 2026-10-14 — The article also says Sega removed earlier Steam versions alongside the new edition.
2026-10-13 to 2026-10-14 — Kotaku says the new version is more expensive than the previous release, without naming exact prices in the available material.
Background
Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy game from Creative Assembly and was released in 2011. The title is part of the Total War series, which focuses on historical strategy. According to the information provided, the Complete Edition is meant to be a modern, expanded re-release of that title, with a presentation that fits the current PC market.
The available sources do not independently confirm whether AI upscaling was actually used, how large the price increase is, or whether the older Steam versions were removed worldwide. The extent of the reported bugs and mod issues also remains unverified based on the material provided. The fact report explicitly treats these points as open questions, which means they should not be presented as established facts in their current form.
As a result, the reporting around the release mainly revolves around three concrete elements: the October 13, 2026 date, the 82% negative recent Steam reviews, and criticism of the new edition’s execution. Kotaku links that criticism to several separate complaints, including performance, visual issues, and the question of whether unit cards were edited with AI upscaling. The available information does not include an official response from Sega or Creative Assembly confirming or denying those points.
Because the provided data does not include exact price levels, only the fact that the new version is more expensive can be confirmed. The scope of the delisting of older Steam versions is also only known through Kotaku’s reporting. The current source set therefore provides enough basis for a report on the release and the first reactions, but not for firm conclusions about the technical cause of the complaints or Sega’s full distribution strategy.
Related GAME-scanner articles
Sources
- Kotaku: article about the release of Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition, the Steam reviews, and the criticism.