Creative Assembly issues new statement on AI use and Shogun 2

Creative Assembly has issued a new statement on Total War: Shogun 2’s disappointing Complete Edition

Last week, Creative Assembly and SEGA removed Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale, stating that the game has “fallen short” of player expectations and their own standards. Today, Creative Assembly’s VP of Total War, Roger Collum, issued a statement on the game, detailing what happened and what they’ll do about it.

Creative Assembly stressed that it did not develop Shogun 2’s Complete Edition. In other words, they threw the Complete Edition’s developer, METABOO, under the bus. The game wasn’t subject to Creative Assembly’s “internal reviews and quality assurance”, which may help explain how such a flawed re-release ever launched. It’s unclear why this wasn’t the case. If nothing else, Creative Assembly should have ensured that a product with its branding met its standards. SEGA should also have ensured the game was ready to release. Either way you look at it, both SEGA and Creative Assembly dropped the ball.

To address the quality issues with Shogun 2’s Complete Edition, Creative Assembly has pulled a “small team of senior developers” to work with SEGA and METABOO on “next steps”. Hopefully, this results in the version of Shogun 2 that players deserved at launch.

Hi everyone,

I’m here to talk about Shogun 2: Complete Edition. You haven’t heard from me yet, and I want to step into that void and clarify a few points from our team’s perspective that are the cause of a lot of your discussions.

I get many of you are angry and disappointed about the state of the Shogun 2: Complete Edition release. We are too – especially the team members who have put everything into Total War games for years, some even decades.

This was not a Creative Assembly developed game. It wasn’t subject to our same internal reviews and quality assurance. We took our eyes off its external development, with all our teams focused on our next big projects. However, whatever the development arrangements, Total War is our franchise and our name is on it.

The studio is full of craft people who care deeply about the experiences we give to our players. Shogun 2 – CE did not meet that bar. We have to own that and we have to fix it.

We’ve pulled a small team of senior developers together to work with SEGA and the external developer on the next steps. I don’t have the details on what that is yet, but we’ll come back to you when we do.

I want to be very clear on the studio-wide stance on generative AI, because I know there are many questions about where we stand. We are a craft studio. Our games are made by incredibly talented people, and we do not believe in a world where technology replaces the creativity of humans.

At Creative Assembly we do not use generative AI to create game assets, including AI-generated art. We demand the same of any external developers we work with. The situation with Shogun 2: Complete Edition is being investigated.

We use AI tools where they help our craftspeople do their best work, as part of a continual evolution of how we use tools and technology in an evolving and competitive space. For me, the principle is pretty simple: AI can support the creator. It shouldn’t replace the creator. I don’t believe that AI can replace the human experience, judgement and creativity that awesome experiences come from. Can AI tools help with analysis, debugging, or speedy prototyping so our experts can focus on making incredible games? Absolutely.

I’ll end my message today with an ask of you all. I understand your anger, but don’t direct that to individuals on our teams. Our community teams, QA, designers, and everyone in between are doing their job, as asked by the company. Their safety is our priority. They do not deserve, and we will not tolerate, harassment or being singled out online and personally criticised.

As a team, we want to be transparent with our communications as much as possible, but that cannot be at the expense of the safety of our people. Please help keep Total War’s community spaces constructive and safe for everyone.

I’ve said it before: when the team does well, it’s all about them. When we get it wrong, it’s on me. You absolutely have the right to be mad, and to criticise us, but direct it at me. We know we must earn your trust by making good games, and crucially, by how we respond when we get things wrong. We’re human, we will get things wrong, and I promise as long as I’m here, when that happens, we’ll hold our hands up and try to make it right.

We’ll talk to you again when we have something meaningful to tell you.

Rog

Regarding AI

Creative Assembly has stated that it does not use generative AI to “create game assets”. The studio also said they “demand the same from any external developers we work with”. They say that they are investigating the situation with Shogun 2: Complete Edition.

AI is only used by Creative Assembly “where they help our craftspeople do their best work”. In other words, AI can support a creator; it can’t replace one. Creative Assembly can use AI as a tool, not as a replacement for human creativity.

Creative Assembly dropped the ball

While Creative Assembly didn’t make Shogun 2’s flawed Complete Edition, the project was ultimately their responsibility. They didn’t keep a close eye on the project or dedicate appropriate resources to a project bearing their name and branding. SEGA is also at fault here, as they should have kept an eye on the project and ensured a subpar product wasn’t released.

Ultimately, Creative Assembly is now responsible for fixing this mess. Hopefully, they can turn this into a product worth playing and recommending. Total War: Shogun 2 is an excellent game, and it deserves a good remaster. Total War fans also deserve a remaster that lives up to its promises.

Join the discussion on Creative Assembly’s statement on Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition on the OC3D Forums.