According to IGN, Creative Assembly’s 25th-anniversary showcase for Total War was packed with reveals. The headliner is Total War: Medieval 3, now in early pre-production, marking the long-awaited return to a fan-favorite historical setting. For Total War: Warhammer 3, the Lords of the End Times Pack arrives in summer 2026, adding four new Legendary Lords starting with Nagash, alongside a free End Times Update. The studio also unveiled the new Warcore engine, which will, for the first time in franchise history, enable future Total War games to launch on PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Finally, they teased a “surprise” third game announcement set for The Game Awards on December 11, calling it one of the most ambitious projects in the series’ history.
Medieval 3: The Long-Awaited Return
Okay, they finally said it. After what feels like an eternity of fan requests and memes, Total War: Medieval 3 is officially a thing. It’s in “early pre-production,” which basically means don’t hold your breath for a release anytime soon—we’re probably looking at 2026 at the absolute earliest, if not later. The pitch is interesting, though. They’re calling it the “ultimate medieval strategy sandbox” with “unprecedented player agency.” I think the big question here is how they modernize that classic formula. The original Medieval games were brilliant but of their time. Now, they have to compete with the insane depth and spectacle of their own Warhammer trilogy. Can they make historical troop movements feel as exciting as a dragon landing in your front line? That’s the challenge.
Warhammer’s End Times and a New Engine
For Warhammer 3, the 2026 date for the Lords of the End Times DLC is a tell. Creative Assembly is playing the long game with this title, which makes sense given it’s the capstone of a decade-long trilogy. Adding Nagash is a huge lore win for fans, and an “apocalyptic” campaign update could be the shake-up the Immortal Empires map needs. But the bigger, quieter announcement is the Warcore engine. This is a massive technical pivot. Developing a proprietary engine that can handle the staggering scale of a Total War battle and run on console hardware is a monumental task. It’s not just about porting controls; it’s about completely re-architecting how the game processes thousands of individual units. If they pull it off, it opens up a whole new market. But here’s the thing: engine work is notoriously difficult and time-consuming. This is a bet on the franchise’s next 10 years.
The Console Question and a Game Awards Tease
Bringing Total War to consoles is a fascinating move. Strategy games on console have had a rocky history, but recent successes like Civilization and various real-time tactics games show there’s an appetite. The real trick will be the interface. Total War’s complexity—managing cities, agents, diplomacy, and real-time battles—is a UI nightmare to translate to a controller. They’ll need a radical redesign, not just a lazy port. And then there’s that Game Awards tease. A “surprise” third title that’s “one of the most ambitious projects” in their history? The speculation will run wild. Is it a total genre shift? A mega-budget historical title using Warcore from the ground up? A licensed property bigger than Warhammer? They’ve successfully buried the lead, and now we have to wait until December.
What It All Means
Look, this showcase was Creative Assembly laying out a very public, multi-year roadmap. They’re servicing their massive Warhammer base for years to come, reviving the historical flagship that built their reputation, and investing heavily in the tech to expand their audience. It’s a confident play. But it also signals a period of heavy development with releases spread out. Medieval 3 is years off. The next big Warhammer content is two years away. The Game Awards reveal might be our next actual *game*, but who knows when it launches. Basically, they’re asking for patience. After a rocky year with Hyenas and layoffs, this is a return to core strengths. Now they just have to execute.
