“It has been a difficult few months, and we recognize that we have made mistakes when it comes to our relationship with you all,” says the statement. “It’s been a constant conversation internally on how we can get back to solid ground. What’s clear is that it won’t be easy and that it will take time and effort.”

“We see the confusion, the frustration, and the distrust of us across the community and honestly, it breaks our hearts. We make games to bring you joy, to inspire a love of history, of fantasy, and strategy games. Total War is our everything, we care about it as deeply as you. Recently, it’s clear that we have failed to demonstrate that in our actions.”

As part of its plans going forward, Creative Assembly has announced that Total War: PHARAOH players on Steam will notice a partial refund having been processed, with funds being added to players’ Steam Wallet. This is due to Total War: PHARAOH getting a price cut down to $39.99. The first planned DLC for the game will also be released for free in early 2024.

Going forward, Total War: PHARAOH will also see incremental updates. Plans regarding these updates, which will bring in new features like expanded campaign map size and new factions, will be revealed once the new year rolls in.

Total War: Warhammer 3, on the other hand, will see an ongoing series of updates. With complaints having stemmed from the last DLC for the game, Shadows of Change, being considered not worth its asking price because of a lack of content, the studio has announced a major update for the DLC. Slated for release in February 2024, the update will flesh out the Shadows of Change DLC.

This also means that the planned Thrones of Decay DLC, originally set for a Winter 2023 release window, will now instead be released in April 2024. The studio says that it wants to ensure that Thrones of Decay doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Shadows of Change.

“Where we make mistakes in this next part of our journey, we’ll work hard to act faster to address them, to iterate whilst we learn from those moments, and to always be taking steps in the right directions,” says the studio. “We hope that you can find patience for us as we find our footing again, and we hope in the coming months we can prove to you with actions along with words.”

Total War: PHARAOH and Total War: Warhammer 3 are both available on PC.

Players have taken two the game’s Steam reviews and discussions forums to complain about the pricing, with some calling the new pricing policy for the DLC a “complete rip-off”

Responding to these criticisms, chief product officer at Creative Assembly, Rob Bartholomew, has stated that DLC prices are increasing because the studio’s costs have risen.

“To get right into it: our costs are up,” Bartholomew said in a post on the Total War website. “Unfortunately, that means that prices have to rise. We know any increase is going to be tough, which is why our prices have remained fairly stable over the past few years. The downside is that any increase today is going to be more noticeable.”

Bartholomew goes on to call for the game’s playerbase to stop harassing developers working at Creative Assembly, acknowledging that some players might wait for deep discounts before buying the more expensive DLC releases.

“Finally, we need to ask you again to stop directing abuse at individual team members,” said Bartholomew. “Frustrated as you may get, these are human beings who spend many hours representing you and your voices within the studio. All of our work gets easier when they are treated with respect.”

The Shadows of Change DLC for Total War: Warhammer 3 is slated for release on August 31.

Shadows of Change is bringing a host of new content to Total War: Warhammer 3, including 3 new Legendary Lords—the Changeling for Tzeentch, Yuan Bo for Grand Cathay, and Mother Ostankya for Kislev. The DLC is also bringing with it new campaign mechanics, new units, and new abilities for use in battles.

Alongside the release of the DLC, Total War: Warhammer 3 is also getting free content in the form of legendary hero Aekold Helbrass—a hero pursued to the edge of the chaos wastes and now reborn as a Champion of Tzeentch. The update will also bring with it more general improvements to the AI in campaign mode, garrisons, and new landmarks.

The Shadows of Change DLC is one of two releases slated for 2023, which will also see the release of the Thrones of Decay DLC focusing on Nurgle, the Empire, and Dwarfs in winter.