Is this the next historical Total War game? Thrones of Britannia is historical and is next to be released, but it’s a Total War Saga game. The next era-spanning historical Total War game is being worked on by a separate team and is yet to be announced. More details on our historical releases here: https://www.totalwar.com/blog/update-on-historical-releases What is A Total War Saga? Total War Sagas offer the same additive mix of turn-based campaign strategy, real-time battle tactics with hundreds if not thousands of hours of gameplay as a regular Total War game, just focussed down on a distinct moment. They will be concentrated games which will put you right in the middle of a dynamic point in history, where the outcome could have gone in a huge number of different directions. Such moments also tend to be constrained to a tight geographic area as well. Sagas won’t introduce brand-new eras; they’ll follow-on from previous Total War games and inhabit the same time-period, or at the very least relate to it. Fall of the Samurai is exactly the kind of thing we’re talking about here. It was a standalone spin-off from Total War: SHOGUN 2, focussed on the pivotal event of the Boshin War. Is it like a Campaign Pack? Will I need to own another game to play it? No, Thrones of Britannia is a standalone game, you don’t need to own any other game to play it. Also, you can expect much more new content and new gameplay than comes with a Campaign Pack. The game will be based around a rich new setting (the British Isles of 878AD, just after invasion by The Great Heathen Army) with ten new playable factions, new mechanics and a new, highly-detailed map. Some elements will be brought across from Total War: ATTILA since they still fit the time period but Thrones of Britannia will have its own unique look and feel. Again, in terms of scale, Fall of the Samurai is a useful yardstick. What is the date range of the game? It starts in 878 AD, and like other Total War games it’s over once you win! There is no set end-date, though the content in the game covers up to around 1066. What geographical area will it cover? The map is the whole of the British Isles, we’ve gone for such a focused map to allow for us to put a lot of detail into it. What are the playable factions? We’ll be confirming all ten of the playable factions over the coming months but for now we can tell you that you’ll be able to play as Anglo-Saxons, Viking settlers and certain Gaelic clans. What are the key features? The game will offer a super-detailed campaign map, with more regional distinction. You can also enjoy new, unique faction and culture mechanics with deep narratives and character development, and we’ve worked hard to introduce all sorts of tweaks to various campaign systems to enable the player to make more powerful and impactful choices. These are things we’ve already announced, though more key features will be announced soon! What engine is it built from? It will be based off the Total War: ATTILA codebase, though not without some changes so we can make the game run as smoothly as possible. When will it be released? It will be some time in 2018 but we’re not ready to announce a release date just yet. Will it be available on Mac/Linux? We only have a release on Windows in our current plan. Will it be available as a physical product or is it digital only? A Total War Saga: Thrones of Britannia will be available as a digital download and there will also be a physical boxed product available in some territories from selected retailers. How much will it cost? Details on the price will be confirmed by retailers a little closer to release. What is the min. & recommended specs? Again, it’s a little early to confirm but if you follow us you’ll be the first to know. Is it available for pre-order? It will be in due course. You can add it now to your Steam Wishlist to be notified when it’s available. When will we see gameplay? Soon™ Springtime 2018 is when you’re likely to see gameplay.
Why 878 AD? ——————————– When you think of Viking Britain, two dates really come to mind: 793 AD: The first major Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne 865 AD: The Great Heathen Army, also called the Great Viking Army and supposedly led by the sons of the legendary Viking Ragnar Lodbrok, arrives in England Both of these are sort of seen as heralding the arrival of different phases of Viking activity. The first leads to the era of constant raiding of the coasts of Britain and Ireland, the second to their eventual settling in England after a lot of fighting. But both of these to a degree are a start, a beginning of something, and I think what happens next is just as interesting. Total War: ATTILA and Total War: WARHAMMER both feature large invasions by marauding forces, as did the Viking Invasion expansion for Medieval: Total War, but they don’t delve into what comes next. What happens after the invasion? How do countries and people pick themselves back up and adapt to the new reality they’re faced with? This aftermath is as fascinating to me, if not more so, than the invasion itself as it’s here that the consequences play out. How do the different cultures cope in areas where they’ve merged together? The Great Heathen Army has been defeated, but the fighting hasn’t really stopped. What does that mean for agriculture, and the need to support armies all the time? What will later Viking raiders think of the ones who’ve already settled, will they look on them as brothers or treat them as another target? The Treaty of Wedmore, signed after the Battle of Edington in 878 AD, is a great time to jump into to look at answering those questions. The Great Viking Army has settled in the old English kingdoms of Northumbria and East Anglia as well as the eastern half of Mercia, the areas that would become known as the Danelaw. Alfred the Great has carved out a kingdom, but it’s still fragile, and lots of English lands lie under Viking rule. In Wales, king Rhodri the Great has died after uniting the lands, his territory divided amongst his sons who each look to follow in the footsteps of their father and rule as King of the Britons, but also deal with a resurgent Wessex. To the north in Scotland, the Gaels have overtaken the Picts and the two branches of the Alpinid dynasty vie for control of what is known as Alba. To the west in Ireland, the lands are as divided as they’ve ever been, between Gaelic Kingdoms and new Viking settlements now dotting the coast. This brief moment of peace after the Treaty of Wedmore, this little bit of calm, is a perfect starting point for us because it represents a crossroads in time. History unfolded in a way that defined what Britain is today, but at this exact moment, the future is wide open. It is perfect for Total War, and the sandbox nature of our campaign gameplay. History only happened the way it did because of the decisions of people alive at the time. What happens when different choices are made, another path is taken? In Thrones of Britannia, we want you to make those choices, and decide who will rule the Isles.
