According to the Vice President of Total War, Shogun 2 – Complete Edition "was not developed by Creative Assembly." This statement follows the game's withdrawal due to worries surrounding generative AI.

Creative Assembly recently addressed the controversy surrounding the use of generative AI within Total War: Shogun 2 – Complete Edition, leading to its withdrawal from sales last week. Roger Collum, the vice president of Total War, explained that the game was not developed by Creative Assembly and thus did not undergo their usual quality assessments.

Collum admitted in a Reddit post that the team had largely been preoccupied with upcoming projects, which resulted in insufficient oversight of the external development. However, he emphasized that Total War remains their franchise and therefore their responsibility. To address this, a team of senior developers has been assembled to collaborate with Sega and the external partner on future steps.

Although Collum did not specify which external company was responsible, Rock Paper Shotgun reported that Mataboo Games, based in Warsaw, is named as a co-developer on Steam. Mataboo Games offers comprehensive development services, covering various aspects such as design, programming, and optimization. The studio has been involved in titles like Gotham Knights and Suicide Squad, among others.

Collum underlined Creative Assembly's approach to generative AI, stating they are a studio that values craftsmanship and does not lean on AI for creating game elements. He clarified that external developers collaborating with them are expected to follow the same principles. The current situation with Shogun 2 – CE is under investigation.

He further explained that while AI tools can support efficiency and prototyping, the fundamental creativity and human insight are irreplaceable. Collum encouraged the use of AI for supporting rather than substituting creators. He appealed to fans to direct any grievances towards him rather than individual developers at Creative Assembly.

In the joint statement from Sega and Creative Assembly, it was acknowledged that Shogun 2 – Complete Edition did not meet expectations, citing AI issues and other performance problems. They assured that efforts are being made with their development partner to resolve these issues, aiming to align with the quality gamers anticipate.