Sega’s Total War series of real-time tactics games have a pretty wide scope. Each new entry goes over a different period of history, often encompassing large swaths of time in its campaigns. Existing games have covered all manner of historical eras, from Japanese shoguns to Medival knights and everything in between. Creative Assembly has even ventured into nonfiction conflicts with the two recent Total War: Warhammer releases. With Total War: Three Kingdoms exploring the most fruitful and popular period of Chinese History, what comes next for this storied franchise? Here are a few potential strategic destinations Sega can steer the series towards next.
Strategy and tactics games can be a hard sell for mainstream audiences. This is why Sega and Creative Assembly’s most recent moves have been so successful. Going back to Attila, the series found a historical figure with a story that’s appealing to more than just the hardcore Total War fanbase. Total War: Warhammer, while not named Total Warhammer, further stretched the series to new people by bringing in fans of the prolific IP. Now, Three Kingdoms brings in the Chinese market, capitalizing on the same love for Romance of the Three Kingdoms that has kept the Dynasty Warriors train rolling for decades.
As many games transfer over to console to expand their market, Total War has remained a PC franchise. Well, besides Spartan: Total Warrior, but we don’t talk about that anymore. Even though it’s only been on Steam for so long, the series has built up a huge fanbase. In fact, it’s now one of the pillars of Sega, one of their most important franchises. That’s always a shock to fans who remember their more arcade and action-heavy days of the past. It seems that Creative Assembly has no shortage of ideas on where to take its series next, and most of us wouldn’t have it any other way.
Total War Destinations
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Total War: Three Kingdoms And More Potential Strategic Destinations
Sega's Total War series has a pretty wide scope. Existing games have covered all manner of historical eras and even ventured into nonfictional conflicts. With Three Kingdoms exploring the most fruitful period of Chinese History, what comes next? Here are a few ideas we came up with. -
Total War: World War 1
Strategy comes to trench warfare. World War 1 would be the most recent expansion of Total War yet, but Battlefield 1 showed some of the unique ways that The Great War could translate into video games. We all need more saber rattling on horseback. -
Total War Saga: Civil War
America hasn't really been the focus of Total War in the past. Not because of any sort of bias, but because of America's relative youth when compared to the rest of the world. A focused game concerning the battle between North and South could be a great way to introduce more modern conflicts into the series. -
Total War: Thirty Years War
If the developers want to go in the complete opposite direction, the Thirty Years War is a conflict mostly unexplored by games and other forms of media. There are a huge number of factions to add in and plenty of battles to draw from, and it could be a great teaching tool for the less historically inclined among us. -
Total War: Genghis
If there was to be a follow-up to Total War: Attila, Genghis would be the only logical choice. A brutal conqueror who took over a ton of land, his conquest would make for an interesting campaign. Seeing as there has been so much success in the Chinese market with Three Kingdoms, more regional games could be in the series' future. -
Total War: Africa
Another conflict/scuffle that hasn't really be explored in popular culture (perhaps because of some of the more grim aspects of it) is the African land grab during the New Colonial period. It's a sticky topic but the developers could do a great job respectfully depicting the history and shining a light on this tragedy. -
Total War: Cyberpunk
Of course, Total War doesn't have to just look back in our own timeline anymore. What if Creative Assembly road on the hype for CDPR's next game and created a future dystopian strategy game? Corporate war machines fighting to reclaim city streets could be an interesting change of pace. -
Total War: Fallout
Or, perhaps Total War could partner with another world ripe for strategic offerings? Bethesda's Fallout franchise appears to be on ice after Fallout 76's release, so why not do a spinoff where Brotherhood of Steel and Enclave forces duke it out for control of the wasteland? -
Total War: Halo Wars
Creative Assembly already worked on Halo Wars 2, but that game focused on a single battle that isn't very representative of Halo's vast lore. A more expansive take on the conflict between the humans and the Covenant with more units and more history that could satisfy fans that were displeased with Halo 5's campaign. -
Total War: Middle-earth
Mixing Total War with the conflict surrounding the War of the Ring as told in Tolkien's legendary fantasy series would be a dream come true for many. While several modders have taken up the task of creating something like this in past games, an official adaption would be an incredible offering for the franchise. -
Total War: Westeros
The dream Total War entry for a lot of other folks out there, Game of Thrones has always been more about character development and political intrigue than battles and warfare. Still, while Reigns may have already given us the perfect gaming adaption, there is plenty of potential in this offering
