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When Total War first introduced gunpowder and colonial warfare back in 2009’s Empire, developer Creative Assembly set a precedent, one that would eventually lead to expectations of an evolution for the franchise. Creative Assembly even followed up Total War: Empire with Total War: Napoleon. Thereafter, many expected the next evolution for the franchise to be the continuation of modern warfare, starting with World War 1, based on what Total War is known for, which is, well, total war.
Sadly, Total War‘s progression into a more modern, mechanized warfare we know today never really happened. Creative Assembly went back to the classical era and brought out Total War: Rome 2 in 2013. Moreover, the historical Total War‘s evolution was somewhat further sidetracked with the advent of Total War: Warhammer, which likely gave the franchise the mainstream push it needed.
World War 1 or simply put, warfare that goes beyond a mostly-melee mosh pit was far out of reach for the historical Total War franchise. A recent partnership for Total War, however, might just catalyze the evolution that the historical facet of the franchise sorely needed. We have Star Wars to thank for that, potentially.
Star Wars and Total War, an Odd Pairing
After the conclusion of Total War: Warhammer, the next big IP partnership was a mystery for Creative Assembly. Some of the more obvious assumptions include The Lord of the Rings, Warhammer 40K, Dune, or even A Song of Ice and Fire. Surprisingly, they chose Star Wars, and thus, Total War: Star Wars is now under development.
You have to admit that Star Wars is quite a huge leap from Warhammer Fantasy. Star Wars is an IP with battles that mostly consist of distant bombardments, small squads, mechanized units, and generally, modern warfare tactics and strategies. It’s a sci-fi fantasy world where melee combat would’ve been nonexistent were it not for some weird space monks and their murderous glowsticks.
So there’s the question of how Star Wars battles will translate to Total War. Because it just so happens that Total War‘s forte as a video game franchise usually involves portraying and simulating thousands of units fighting in melee. Total War: Empire and Total War: Warhammer shook up this formula a bit, but the general controls and mode for field combat are still ancient pitched battles revolving around rigid unit cohorts or hammer-and-anvil tactics.
No Battlefield for Old Men
One shouldn’t simply throw in starships, space, long-range artillery, and ranged combat squads into that kind of old AI script or battle engine, or else it would look awkward. In fact, some modders even created a Star Wars mode for Total War: Rome and it turned out way too janky (though still an interesting and commendable effort from the modders).
That’s also likely one of the reasons why Creative Assembly stuck to the ancient battle formula for so long. Creative Assembly already has a refinement of the ancient battle engine and switching up to modern warfare might require starting from scratch. The studio will have to reinvent the wheel for Total War: Star Wars into thrusters to make it work.
Total War: Star Wars Could Push a Domino Effect for Historical Total War
So we can expect Total War: Star Wars to be dramatically different than what we’re used to in the usual Total War title, whether in the historical or fictional category. The new development could mean creating a new battle engine just to accommodate the more distant scaling and chaotic or sporadic engagements necessary to portray actual wars and battles in Star Wars or even in modern wars.
Of course, when you create something like this, you wouldn’t want it to go to waste. So that hypothetical new battle engine or modern warfare AI behavior for units might as well be used for Total War‘s first foray into World War 1 or something similar. If anything, the bold new direction for Creative Assembly will expand the potential for future Total War titles.
In turn, Total War: Star Wars might just be the evolution that the franchise needs regardless of whether it’s for the historical or fictional category. At the moment Creative Assembly is keeping everyone in suspense, of course. There’s not much information on Total War: Star Wars apart from the fact that it’s now under development.
We’ll have to wait and see what they can pull off to match the sheer spectacle of Star Wars battles at the cinema, but a modern Total War has been long overdue now.
