Creative Assembly
Encyclopedia
The Creative Assembly is a British video game developer
established in 1987 by Tim Ansell and based in the West Sussex
town of Horsham
. An Australian branch is also operated from Fortitude Valley, Queensland. In its early years, the company worked on porting
games to DOS
from Amiga
and ZX Spectrum
platforms, later working with Electronic Arts
to produce a variety of games under the EA Sports
brand. In 1999, the company had sufficient resources to attempt a new and original project, proceeding to develop the strategy computer game Shogun: Total War
. Shogun: Total War was highly successful for the Creative Assembly and is regarded as one of the benchmark strategy games. Subsequent titles in the Total War series built on the triumph of Shogun: Total War, increasing the company's critical and commercial success.
In March 2005, the Creative Assembly was acquired by Japanese giant Sega
as an European subsidiary
. Under Sega, further Total War titles were developed, and the Creative Assembly entered the console
market with action-adventure game
s such as Spartan: Total Warrior
and Viking: Battle for Asgard
. The company's most recent products are Shogun 2: Total War
and the real-time strategy
title, Stormrise
.
in 1985, working on video game titles for the Amstrad CPC
, Commodore 64
and Atari 800. Initially, Ansell kept the company small so he could personally work on computer programming. The company's early work, often produced personally by Ansell, involved porting games from the Amiga
and ZX Spectrum
platforms to DOS
, such as the 1989 titles Geoff Crammond's
Stunt Car Racer
and Shadow of the Beast
by Psygnosis. The Creative Assembly began work with Electronic Arts
in 1993, producing titles under the EA Sports
label, starting with the DOS version of the early FIFA
games. With EA Sports, The Creative Assembly was able to produce low development risk products bearing official league endorsements. The company's products included official Rugby World Cup
titles for 1995 and 2001, the official game for the 1999 Cricket World Cup
and the Australian Football League
games for 1998 and 1999, of which the AFL98 title was particularly successful in the Australian market. When it became clear that the company needed to expand further, Ansell employed Michael Simpson in 1996 as studio director. Simpson, a microchip
designer turned video game designer, later became the driving force for the creative design of the Total War series.
, the company's breakthrough title. A blend of real-time tactics
and turn-based
gameplay, Shogun: Total War
was first announced in early 1999. The game focused the Sengoku period
of Japanese feudal history, and upon release its in June 2000 it was met with critical acclaim. The game won multiple industry awards and became regarded as one of the benchmark strategy video games. Inhouse composer Jeff van Dyck
won both a BAFTA and an EMMA
award for his work on the game's soundtrack. In May 2001, the Creative Assembly announced The Mongol Invasion, an expansion pack
focusing on the earlier Mongol invasions of Japan
. Released in August 2001, the expansion pack also received a positive response.
Soon after, the Creative Assembly broke away from Electronic Arts, instead using Activision
as a publisher and distributor. In August 2001, the Creative Assembly announced a second Total War video game, this time set in the Middle Ages
. Medieval: Total War
was of a larger scope than Shogun: Total War, spanning a larger time period and the entire of Medieval Europe. Released in August 2002, the game was a greater success than Shogun: Total War, becoming the best-selling video game in the UK for the first two weeks, and the fourth best-selling game in the US market in its first week. As with Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War won multiple industry awards, and was named the top game of 2002 by PC Gamer
, unseating Valve Software's
Half-Life. The Creative Assembly itself was also awarded the European Computer Trade Show
PC Game Developer of the Year award. Viking Invasion, an expansion pack focusing on the Viking invasions of Britain in the Dark Ages
, was released in May 2003.
A third Total War title was announced in January 2003. Entitled Rome: Total War
, the game featured an entirely new game engine
to Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War, and redesigned the approach to the series. Set during the rise of the Roman Empire
, the game's code was used for two television shows, the BBC's
Time Commanders
and the History Channel's Decisive Battles. Upon release in September 2004, the game was given near universal praise, becoming one of the year's top ten best-selling titles. Jeff van Dyck was again nominated for a BAFTA award for the game's soundtrack.
announced on 9 March 2005 that they had sealed an acquisition deal with the Creative Assembly, purchasing all issued shares
in the company. Sega explained that the acquisition was to strengthen Sega Europe's presence in the European and North American video game markets. All preceding titles in the Total War series had been exclusively computer games. By July 2005, Sega had acquired the publishing rights to Rome: Total War from Activision, and built on the brand strategy by releasing two expansion packs: Barbarian Invasion
in September 2005 and Alexander
in September 2006. Spartan: Total Warrior was released in October 2005 on Xbox
, PlayStation 2
and GameCube
, receiving a favourable reception from critics.
Medieval II: Total War, the fourth title in the franchise, was announced in January 2006. It was a remake of the earlier Medieval: Total War using the new assets and technology behind Rome: Total War. The game was released in November 2006, and although not as successful as Rome: Total War, Medieval II: Total War was still a critical and commercial hit, holding a place in the UK games charts in November 2006, and in the US charts until the end of January 2007. An expansion pack, Kingdoms
, was announced in March 2007. The expansion received a positive reception from critics upon release in August 2007.
At the Games Convention
in Leipzig
, Germany
in August 2007, the Creative Assembly simultaneously announced new titles. The first, Viking: Battle for Asgard
, was another console-exclusive title, similar in style to Spartan: Total Warrior, but focusing on Norse mythology
. The game was released in March 2008 but only received an average reception from critics in the industry. The second title was a fifth Total War installment, Empire: Total War
, set in the early modern period
of the 18th century and early 19th century. As was the case with Rome: Total War, Empire: Total War features a redesigned approach to the series and a new game engine. It was released in March 2009, receiving high praise from many within the industry, selling double the amount of units sold of Medieval II: Total War and Rome: Total War However, numerous significant issues were pointed out by fans and critics after the release. Though there were numerous patches, not all of these were addressed by the abandonment of support for the game, which caused many to question Sega's influence on The Creative Assembly. In July 2008, the Creative Assembly announced another title, Stormrise
. Unlike previous historically-based games, Stormrise is a science fiction
real-time strategy
game developed for both consoles and PC, released in 2009. Stormrise received negative and mediocre responses, with criticisms focusing on broken pathfinding and the game's flawed control scheme (designed with the intent to create an easy interface for consoles).
The Australian branch of the Creative Assembly ported the first three Sonic The Hedgehog games and the Sonic & Knuckles
lock-on games to Sonic Classic Collection. This compilation received overall positive reviews from Aussie-Nintendo and Official Nintendo Magazine, but criticised some speed issues when playing, rarely speeding up or slowing down and some graphical and sound glitches. This is due to the fact that the DS is just emulating the games. Reviewers also criticised the removal of multiplayer in the games, previously available in earlier versions of the games.
More recently in 2009 the Company released Napoleon: Total War
, based on the exploits of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The company released Total War: Shogun 2 in 2011, to universal acclaim. The title is the first to make the brand Total War the main title, in an effort to increase brand awareness.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
established in 1987 by Tim Ansell and based in the West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
town of Horsham
Horsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
. An Australian branch is also operated from Fortitude Valley, Queensland. In its early years, the company worked on porting
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
games to DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
from Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
platforms, later working with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
to produce a variety of games under the EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
brand. In 1999, the company had sufficient resources to attempt a new and original project, proceeding to develop the strategy computer game Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts. Released in June 2000, the game is the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series...
. Shogun: Total War was highly successful for the Creative Assembly and is regarded as one of the benchmark strategy games. Subsequent titles in the Total War series built on the triumph of Shogun: Total War, increasing the company's critical and commercial success.
In March 2005, the Creative Assembly was acquired by Japanese giant Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
as an European subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
. Under Sega, further Total War titles were developed, and the Creative Assembly entered the console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
market with action-adventure game
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
s such as Spartan: Total Warrior
Spartan: Total Warrior
Spartan: Total Warrior is a spin-off action game of the Total War series, developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was released on Xbox, PlayStation 2 and GameCube...
and Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard is an action adventure/hack and slash video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was announced on August 21, 2007 by SEGA Europe and released in North America on March 25 and Europe on March 28, 2008...
. The company's most recent products are Shogun 2: Total War
Shogun 2: Total War
Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It is the latest installment in the Total War series and returns to the 16th-century Japan setting of the first Total War game, Shogun: Total War, after a series of games set mainly in Europe...
and the real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
title, Stormrise
Stormrise
Stormrise is a real-time strategy video game developed by The Creative Assembly's Australian Studio and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.-Story:...
.
Founding
The Creative Assembly was founded on 18 August 1987 as a limited company. The founder, Tim Ansell, had begun professional computer programmingComputer programming
Computer programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs. This source code is written in one or more programming languages. The purpose of programming is to create a program that performs specific operations or exhibits a...
in 1985, working on video game titles for the Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
and Atari 800. Initially, Ansell kept the company small so he could personally work on computer programming. The company's early work, often produced personally by Ansell, involved porting games from the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
and ZX Spectrum
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
platforms to DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, such as the 1989 titles Geoff Crammond's
Geoff Crammond
Geoff Crammond is a computer game designer and programmer who specialises in motor racing games. A former defense industry systems engineer, he claims to have had little interest in motor racing before programming his first racing game back in 1984, but he holds a physics degree, which may explain...
Stunt Car Racer
Stunt Car Racer
Stunt Car Racer is a racing video game developed by Geoff Crammond and was published by MicroStyle in 1989...
and Shadow of the Beast
Shadow of the Beast
Shadow of the Beast is a side-scrolling platform computer game produced by Reflections Interactive and published by Psygnosis in 1989. The original version was released for the Commodore Amiga, but the game has been ported to many other systems...
by Psygnosis. The Creative Assembly began work with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
in 1993, producing titles under the EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
label, starting with the DOS version of the early FIFA
FIFA (series)
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
games. With EA Sports, The Creative Assembly was able to produce low development risk products bearing official league endorsements. The company's products included official Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....
titles for 1995 and 2001, the official game for the 1999 Cricket World Cup
1999 Cricket World Cup
-England:-Outside England:-Group A:-Results:-------------------------------------------------------------Group B:-Results:------------------------------------------------------------...
and the Australian Football League
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
games for 1998 and 1999, of which the AFL98 title was particularly successful in the Australian market. When it became clear that the company needed to expand further, Ansell employed Michael Simpson in 1996 as studio director. Simpson, a microchip
Integrated circuit
An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...
designer turned video game designer, later became the driving force for the creative design of the Total War series.
Early Total War titles
As a result of their success in sports titles, by 1999 the Creative Assembly had sufficient resources and backing from Electronic Arts to develop more high risk titles in other genres. The result of this was Shogun: Total WarShogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts. Released in June 2000, the game is the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series...
, the company's breakthrough title. A blend of real-time tactics
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
and turn-based
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
gameplay, Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War
Shogun: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Electronic Arts. Released in June 2000, the game is the debut title in The Creative Assembly's Total War series...
was first announced in early 1999. The game focused the Sengoku period
Sengoku period
The or Warring States period in Japanese history was a time of social upheaval, political intrigue, and nearly constant military conflict that lasted roughly from the middle of the 15th century to the beginning of the 17th century. The name "Sengoku" was adopted by Japanese historians in reference...
of Japanese feudal history, and upon release its in June 2000 it was met with critical acclaim. The game won multiple industry awards and became regarded as one of the benchmark strategy video games. Inhouse composer Jeff van Dyck
Jeff van Dyck
Jeff van Dyck is a Canadian video game music composer. Born in 1969 and raised in Vancouver, Canada, van Dyck is the Audio Director of The Creative Assembly's offices in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia....
won both a BAFTA and an EMMA
EMMA
EMMA is an Organization which raises awareness of discrimination through media campaigns, social networking, and the EMMA Awards....
award for his work on the game's soundtrack. In May 2001, the Creative Assembly announced The Mongol Invasion, an expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
focusing on the earlier Mongol invasions of Japan
Mongol invasions of Japan
The ' of 1274 and 1281 were major military efforts undertaken by Kublai Khan to conquer the Japanese islands after the submission of Goryeo to vassaldom. Despite their ultimate failure, the invasion attempts are of macrohistorical importance, because they set a limit on Mongol expansion, and rank...
. Released in August 2001, the expansion pack also received a positive response.
Soon after, the Creative Assembly broke away from Electronic Arts, instead using Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
as a publisher and distributor. In August 2001, the Creative Assembly announced a second Total War video game, this time set in the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Medieval: Total War
Medieval: Total War
Medieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Activision. Set in the Middle Ages, it is the second game in the Total War series, following on from the 2000 title Shogun: Total War...
was of a larger scope than Shogun: Total War, spanning a larger time period and the entire of Medieval Europe. Released in August 2002, the game was a greater success than Shogun: Total War, becoming the best-selling video game in the UK for the first two weeks, and the fourth best-selling game in the US market in its first week. As with Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War won multiple industry awards, and was named the top game of 2002 by PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
, unseating Valve Software's
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
Half-Life. The Creative Assembly itself was also awarded the European Computer Trade Show
European Computer Trade Show
The European Computer Trade Show, commonly known as ECTS, was an annual trade show for the European computer and video game industry, which first ran in 1988, with the last event occurring in 2004....
PC Game Developer of the Year award. Viking Invasion, an expansion pack focusing on the Viking invasions of Britain in the Dark Ages
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages was the period of European history lasting from the 5th century to approximately 1000. The Early Middle Ages followed the decline of the Western Roman Empire and preceded the High Middle Ages...
, was released in May 2003.
A third Total War title was announced in January 2003. Entitled Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
, the game featured an entirely new game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
to Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War, and redesigned the approach to the series. Set during the rise of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, the game's code was used for two television shows, the BBC's
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
Time Commanders
Time Commanders
Time Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured a specially made game engine to reenact historical battles. A team of four...
and the History Channel's Decisive Battles. Upon release in September 2004, the game was given near universal praise, becoming one of the year's top ten best-selling titles. Jeff van Dyck was again nominated for a BAFTA award for the game's soundtrack.
Buyout and later games
Despite speculation that Activision might buy the Creative Assembly, as the publisher had done with previous successful developers under its wing, the Japanese company SegaSega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
announced on 9 March 2005 that they had sealed an acquisition deal with the Creative Assembly, purchasing all issued shares
Share (finance)
A joint stock company divides its capital into units of equal denomination. Each unit is called a share. These units are offered for sale to raise capital. This is termed as issuing shares. A person who buys share/shares of the company is called a shareholder, and by acquiring share or shares in...
in the company. Sega explained that the acquisition was to strengthen Sega Europe's presence in the European and North American video game markets. All preceding titles in the Total War series had been exclusively computer games. By July 2005, Sega had acquired the publishing rights to Rome: Total War from Activision, and built on the brand strategy by releasing two expansion packs: Barbarian Invasion
Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion
Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The Rome Total War Gold Edition includes both the original game as well as the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The...
in September 2005 and Alexander
Rome: Total War: Alexander
Rome: Total War: Alexander is the second expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War. It is set in an earlier time period, putting the player in the role of Alexander the Great...
in September 2006. Spartan: Total Warrior was released in October 2005 on Xbox
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and GameCube
Nintendo GameCube
The , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
, receiving a favourable reception from critics.
Medieval II: Total War, the fourth title in the franchise, was announced in January 2006. It was a remake of the earlier Medieval: Total War using the new assets and technology behind Rome: Total War. The game was released in November 2006, and although not as successful as Rome: Total War, Medieval II: Total War was still a critical and commercial hit, holding a place in the UK games charts in November 2006, and in the US charts until the end of January 2007. An expansion pack, Kingdoms
Medieval II: Total War: Kingdoms
Medieval II: Total War Kingdoms is the expansion to the 2006 PC game Medieval II: Total War. The expansion was released on 28 August 2007 in the United States and has four new campaigns, focusing on the discovery of the Americas, 13th century Britain and Ireland, and Crusader campaigns in both the...
, was announced in March 2007. The expansion received a positive reception from critics upon release in August 2007.
At the Games Convention
Games Convention
The Games Convention, sometimes called the Leipzig Games Convention and abbreviated as GC, was an annual video game event held in Leipzig, Germany, first held in 2002. Besides video games, the event also covers Infotainment, Hardware, and Edutainment...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in August 2007, the Creative Assembly simultaneously announced new titles. The first, Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard
Viking: Battle for Asgard is an action adventure/hack and slash video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. It was announced on August 21, 2007 by SEGA Europe and released in North America on March 25 and Europe on March 28, 2008...
, was another console-exclusive title, similar in style to Spartan: Total Warrior, but focusing on Norse mythology
Norse mythology
Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...
. The game was released in March 2008 but only received an average reception from critics in the industry. The second title was a fifth Total War installment, Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War
Empire: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics computer game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The fifth instalment in the Total War series, the game was released in North America on 3 March 2009, and in the rest of the world the following day...
, set in the early modern period
Early modern period
In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...
of the 18th century and early 19th century. As was the case with Rome: Total War, Empire: Total War features a redesigned approach to the series and a new game engine. It was released in March 2009, receiving high praise from many within the industry, selling double the amount of units sold of Medieval II: Total War and Rome: Total War However, numerous significant issues were pointed out by fans and critics after the release. Though there were numerous patches, not all of these were addressed by the abandonment of support for the game, which caused many to question Sega's influence on The Creative Assembly. In July 2008, the Creative Assembly announced another title, Stormrise
Stormrise
Stormrise is a real-time strategy video game developed by The Creative Assembly's Australian Studio and published by Sega for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.-Story:...
. Unlike previous historically-based games, Stormrise is a science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game developed for both consoles and PC, released in 2009. Stormrise received negative and mediocre responses, with criticisms focusing on broken pathfinding and the game's flawed control scheme (designed with the intent to create an easy interface for consoles).
The Australian branch of the Creative Assembly ported the first three Sonic The Hedgehog games and the Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles
Sonic & Knuckles is a 1994 platform video game in the Sonic the Hedgehog series for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was developed in the United States at Sega Technical Institute by members of Sonic Team, and was published by Sega worldwide on October 18, 1994.As well as working as a standalone...
lock-on games to Sonic Classic Collection. This compilation received overall positive reviews from Aussie-Nintendo and Official Nintendo Magazine, but criticised some speed issues when playing, rarely speeding up or slowing down and some graphical and sound glitches. This is due to the fact that the DS is just emulating the games. Reviewers also criticised the removal of multiplayer in the games, previously available in earlier versions of the games.
More recently in 2009 the Company released Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War
Napoleon: Total War is a turn-based strategy and real-time tactics video game developed by The Creative Assembly and published by Sega for the PC. Napoleon was released in North America on 23 February 2010, and in Europe on February 26. The game is the sixth stand-alone instalment in the Total...
, based on the exploits of Napoleon Bonaparte.
The company released Total War: Shogun 2 in 2011, to universal acclaim. The title is the first to make the brand Total War the main title, in an effort to increase brand awareness.