Buyout and later games (2005–2016)
Despite speculation that Activision might buy Creative Assembly, as the publisher had done with previous successful developers under its wing,[12] the Japanese company Sega announced on 9 March 2005 that it had sealed an acquisition deal with Creative Assembly,[12] purchasing all issued shares in the company.[13] Sega explained that the acquisition was to strengthen Sega Europe's presence in the European and North American video game markets.[14] 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,[15] 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 mixed reception from critics.[16][17][18]
Medieval II: Total War, the fourth title in the franchise, was announced in January 2006 and developed by the Australian branch of Creative Assembly.[19][20] 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,[21] Medieval II: Total War was still a critical and commercial hit, holding a place in the UK games charts in November 2006,[22] and in the US charts until the end of January 2007.[23] An expansion pack, Kingdoms, was announced in March 2007. The expansion received a positive reception from critics upon release in August 2007.[24]
At the Games Convention in August 2007, Creative Assembly announced new titles. The first, Viking: Battle for Asgard, was a console-exclusive title, similar in style to Spartan: Total Warrior, but focusing on Norse mythology.[25] The game was released in March 2008. It received an average reception from critics in the industry.[26][27] The second title was a fifth Total War instalment, Empire: Total War, set in the early modern period of the 18th century and early 19th century.[28] 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,[29] selling double the number of units sold of Medieval II: Total War and Rome: Total War. However, numerous significant issues were pointed out by 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 Creative Assembly.[30]
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. Reviewers also criticised the removal of multiplayer in the games, previously available in earlier versions of the games. In 2010, the company released Napoleon: Total War, based on the exploits of Napoleon Bonaparte to generally favourable reviews that praised the tightly scripted elements of a smaller, more focused campaign than its globe-spanning predecessor, Empire Total War.[35] The company released Total War: Shogun 2 in 2011, to universal acclaim.[36] The title is the first to make the brand Total War the main title, in an effort to increase brand awareness.[37]
On 6 December 2012, a partnership between Games Workshop and Creative Assembly was announced. Also announced was the creation of a new Warhammer Fantasy Battle game. On 5 April 2013, it was announced that Sega Studios Australia (formerly known as The Creative Assembly Australia) will be shut down later in the year.[38] On 3 September 2013, Creative Assembly released Total War: Rome II. The game uses an updated Warscape engine and suffered from technical issues shortly after release which eventually led to Creative Assembly's creative director, Mike Simpson, apologising publicly for the widespread technical issues.[39] In the ten months following release, Creative Assembly released fourteen patches for the game, solving most technical issues and balancing gameplay. As of July 2014, the game currently stands at a rating of 76/100 on Metacritic by critics.[40]
Alien: Isolation is a first person stealth horror game based on the film Alien.[41] The game was released on 7 October 2014 for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.[42] In 2016, the company released the game Total War: Warhammer, which was the first game in a trilogy.[43]
