If there’s one Total War game I keep coming back to, on those late nights when I hunger for the series’ beloved brand of tactical management gameplay, it’s Total War Three Kingdoms. A delve into the romantic depiction of China’s great history, a time where acts of heroism placed generals and tacticians in the pantheon alongside gods. A great revolution thwarted, legendary betrayals and alliances, and a country engulfed in flames. It is one of my feel good games – the great stress diluter – and it stands today a butchered pariah. A game whose life was cut short, and ultimately resigned to history.

But how did this happen? Well, back in 2022 the Creative Assembly team behind Three Kingdoms announced that development on the game’s post-launch DLC would cease in favour of a sequel of sorts.

This new project, set within the Three Kingdoms universe, was met with some skeptisism. Many enjoyed the Three Kingdoms they had, and weren’t ready to move onto a new game only two years after its release. Others, myself included at the time, were excited at what a sequel could bring. In my mind the team had proven themselves, and while I was bummed out to here the game I loved would be cut short of DLC, I could live with that as long as an exciting new game would come in its place.