Total War: Medieval 3 and Warhammer 40K - What Creative Assembly Got Right (and Wrong) (Ep.60)
Critical Moves - Strategy GamingShow Notes
Creative Assembly announced Medieval 3 and Total War Warhammer 40K within two weeks. We break down what we know, what's missing, and whether the new Warcore engine can handle what these games need to deliver. Medieval 3 won't arrive until 2027 at the earliest, possibly 2028. The game promises more than just map painting with systems borrowed from Crusader Kings territory, but the challenge is finding the middle ground between Medieval 2 Definitive Edition and overcomplicated mechanics that alienate the core audience. Total War Warhammer 40K launches in 2026 with four factions at release. The excitement is real, but so are the concerns. The lack of confirmed player-controlled space combat is a problem when Battlefleet Gothic Armada managed proper naval warfare a decade ago. Creative Assembly has talked about fleets moving between planets, but they haven't said the words that matter: you will control ships in battle. The simultaneous PC and console release raises questions about complexity being sacrificed for accessibility. The DLC model from Warhammer Fantasy could get expensive fast when you're dealing with a galaxy worth of factions. Chaos Space Marines missing at launch signals what's coming. We cover the new Warcore engine, whether Creative Assembly learned from the Rome 2 disaster, and what needs to happen for these games to work. The potential is there. The execution remains to be seen.
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