The Total War series has become one of the most popular strategy games on the market. Since developer Creative Assembly first started the series back in 2000, it has explored nearly every period of human history, but there are still a few eras of history ripe for exploration. One of those is ancient Egypt, which is why the next game in the series is Total War: Pharaoh. The game was officially announced earlier this year, but today Creative Assembly and publisher Sega finally put an official release date on it. Total War: Pharaoh is coming to PC and Mac on October 11.
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That wasn’t the only thing Creative Assembly announced. Total War: Pharaoh will also get a physical edition, but only in select stores in Europe. That goes live on October 23, so if you want to grab it, you’ll need to wait a few days after launch. That said, anyone who pre-orders Total War: Pharaoh will get to take part in the early access weekend, as well as get some cosmetic packs for extra customization options.
Early access weekend runs from September 29 to October 2, giving players an early chance to try out all of Pharaoh‘s new changes. While the full campaign map will be available, you’ll only be able to play up to 60 turns. It’s kind of in between a standard early access and a beta test, though this will be the final game build you’re playing.
What’s New in Total War: Pharaoh?
In many of the more recent Total War games, players have been treated to more fantastical worlds. Between Warhammer 3 and Three Kingdoms, the more historical games have felt like they were falling out of favor to some degree at Creative Assembly at large. Fortunately for fans of that kind of game, Creative Assembly Sofia, which previously worked on Saga: Troy, is back with a “fully historical” Total War.
To that end, Pharaoh takes players back to the New Kingdom of Egypt. You’ll be able to choose between eight different factions across three different cultures. Obviously, that includes the Egyptians, but factions from the Canaanites and Hittites will also be available. As with Troy, one of the big selling points for Pharaoh is the dynamic weather and how that shapes the conditions your soldiers will have to fight through. The further you get into the game, the more options will open up for you in terms of recruitable units that can deal with the harsh conditions of Egypt.
Pharaoh will also have a god system that lets you pledge your allegiance to one of the nineteen gods in the game. This will help shape what tools you have available and should add some fun wrinkles. Moreover, Creative Assembly is touting its “brand-new Campaign Customization” tool, which it says will make it to where “no two campaigns…ever feel the same.” Basically, you’ll have full control over how a map starts, letting you fine-tune your experience before it even begins.
Total War: Pharaoh is out on PC and Mac on October 11.
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Image Credit: 20th Century Studios
