Sega Pulls Shogun 2 Remaster After AI Graphics Backlash

Sega and Creative Assembly have removed Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition from sale two days after its release.

Players flagged AI-upscaled unit cards and persistent bugs. The remaster was marketed as an enhanced version of the 2011 strategy game with improved visuals and 1440p and 4K UI scaling. Reviewers instead reported blurry assets, merged faces on samurai portraits, lost emblems, and extra fingers on unit cards, along with unchanged bugs from the original release.

Polygon reports that Roland MacDonald, the original artist behind the unit portraits, allegedly called the changes “very lazy” in a fan-shared email that said no human had looked at the edited images.

Steam reviews turned overwhelmingly negative within 24 hours. The game earned an Overwhelmingly Negative rating, with only 19 percent of more than 2,000 reviews recommending it, VGC reported. Players also criticized new and lingering bugs, a clunky new interface, and Sega’s decision to pull the original version from sale when the $40 Complete Edition launched.

Sega and Creative Assembly issued a public statement. The companies said the current experience fell short of expectations and their own standards. They are working with platform holders to temporarily remove the Complete Edition from sale and reinstate the original 2011 version while they investigate the problems. The statement did not address the AI criticism.

Existing owners retain access to the game. No timeline has been given for when the Complete Edition might return. Sega confirmed that buyers can continue playing the version they purchased during the investigation.