Total War: Medieval III Is Coming. Here's What Creative Assembly Has Shown So Far
Creative Assembly announced a third Medieval at the series' 25th birthday, along with a new engine that finally opens the door to consoles. It's in early pre-production, so here's what's confirmed, what isn't, and why historical fans are excited again.
In 2002, a strategy game put up to 10,000 soldiers on a single battlefield and let players rewrite the age of crusades. Nearly a quarter of a century and many sequels later, its studio has finally confirmed a third chapter.
Total War: MEDIEVAL III was announced in early December 2025 at Creative Assembly's showcase for the series' 25th anniversary. The studio described it as "the ultimate medieval strategy sandbox" and called it "the rebirth of historical Total War". The catch: it's in early pre-production, so there's no release window, no platforms list and no price yet. A year on, here's what we know.
What's confirmed
The official description is short but telling. Medieval III is a return to the franchise's historical roots after years in which the Warhammer fantasy trilogy took centre stage. It's built as a sandbox, a game about shaping realms and creating "what if" history rather than replaying it.
Creative Assembly revealed it this early on purpose. The team wants to share behind-the-scenes work and gather community feedback while the game is still taking shape, which is unusual for a series that has often stayed quiet until a year or so before launch.
Warcore: the engine underneath
The bigger technical news is Warcore, the next version of Creative Assembly's own engine, built on what the studio calls "25 years of strategy innovation". Early examples of what it improves include physics and pathfinding, two things veteran players complain about whenever an army gets stuck on a bridge.
Warcore also does something no Total War engine has done before: it makes it possible to release future games on PlayStation and Xbox. Creative Assembly says PC remains the main focus, and it hasn't said whether Medieval III itself will come to consoles.
The rest of the anniversary showcase
Medieval III wasn't the only announcement:
- Total War: WARHAMMER III got its Lords of the End Times pack, with four new Legendary Lords (the first revealed was Nagash) for summer 2026, plus a free End Times update.
- The Tides of Torment pack, with three new Legendary Lords, was already out.
- The Immortal Empires campaign became free for owners of Warhammer I and II.
- A third, separate Total War game was teased for The Game Awards 2025, where it was revealed shortly afterwards.
Roger Collum, Vice President of Total War, framed it as a long-term commitment: "We're extremely grateful that we get to make games that our community get to play for decades."
What isn't known yet
- Release date or window: none announced
- Platforms: PC is the focus; consoles not confirmed for this game
- Setting details: no confirmed start date, map size or faction list
- Steam page: we couldn't find one yet; the official Total War site is the place to watch
Why it matters
Historical Total War fans have spent years watching fantasy armies get the headlines. Medieval II, which came out almost two decades ago, is still the game many of them name as the series' peak, so calling the sequel "the rebirth of historical Total War" sets a high bar. A new engine helps: better pathfinding and physics are exactly what siege warfare needs. The early reveal is a gamble too. It gives fans years to shape the game, but also years to wait. For how another giant of PC strategy keeps its games alive for a decade, see our Paradox feature.