Pharaoh is the latest installment in the popular “Total War” series. Following the great success of Total War: Warhammer 3, fans wanted another historical title. Unfortunately, it was received poorly – so poorly that the developers are now lowering the price. In retrospect: those who purchased the game will receive a partial refund.
What kind of game is this?
- The Total War series is known for massive battles and a mix of real-time strategy and turn-based grand strategy. Alongside historical titles such as Attila or Shogun the Warhammer spin-off is enormously popular.
- Together with Civilization and Age of Empires, Total War is one of the major strategy franchises. Alone, Warhammer 3 still has over 26,000 active players (via steamcharts).
- The latest installment is Total War: Pharaoh, set in ancient Egypt. Even the strategy experts at GameStar found it “difficult.”
This is how Total War: Pharaoh was received: The problem with Pharaoh, according to GameStar and reviews on Steam, is that the game has a map that is tiny by Total War standards, some mechanics do not work, and the variety of units is extremely limited.
That, combined with the AAA price of €60 at release, led to mixed reviews. On Steam, Total War: Pharaoh currently has a “mixed” rating with 55% positive reviews. The setting is great, but the mechanics simply do not work.
The criticism has apparently reached the developers. They promise in a statement a price reduction that also works retroactively.
“We made mistakes in our relationship with you”
In an open letter from the developers dated December 14, Creative Assembly now addresses the players directly. It states:
It has been a few difficult months, and we recognize that we made mistakes in our relationship with all of you. We have had ongoing discussions about how we can get back on solid ground. What’s clear is: this won’t be easy and it will take time and effort.
The statement refers both to the mixed reviews for Pharaoh, as well as the major outrage over the “overpriced” DLC for Warhammer 3. Fans have been saying for some time: the studio is charging too much money for too little content.
Creative Assembly is now responding and lowering the price of Total War: Pharaoh by €20, to €39.99. And this is retroactive. This means that everyone who purchased the game will receive a “partial refund” directly to their Steam account. It should work automatically.
Even purchasers of the DLC “Shadows of Change” for Warhammer 3 will receive something: a large, free update is expected to follow roughly in February 2024, which will essentially deliver the “missing content” that fans have been expecting. Anyone who buys the DLC afterward will have everything included.
In the future, they want to invest more in communication with the players and allow individual members of their team to speak up to explain decisions.
