- This article or section is about game content which was freshly released by Creative Assembly or is still in development. The information here is not final, and may change rapidly.
Total War: Warhammer III (TWW3, WH3) is the third and final game in the Total War: Warhammer series, being developed by Creative Assembly. It is the sequel to Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Warhammer II, and the culmination of the series which is set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe created by Games Workshop.
The game released on 17 February 2022 for PC, and will come sometime later to Mac and Linux.
It is available on 3 online storefronts: Steam, Epic Games Store and Windows Store - an account for one of these stores will be required to play. Game keys can also be purchased on other stores such as Fanatical, Humble Store and GameBillet.
Additionally, the game is available on Xbox Game Pass for PC.
To access the combined campaign map (which will become available sometime after launch), a player will need to own all 3 games in the Total War: Warhammer series on the same storefront (eg: Steam or Epic Games Store or Windows Store).
The official Total War: Warhammer III website is at warhammer3.totalwar.com.
The official 9-page manual provides a brief introduction to the lore and mechanics for new and veteran players, and covers the standard installation, warranty and customer service information.
Features[]
Campaign mode[]
- The game will feature its own self-contained main campaign (see our article on the The Realm of Chaos).
- This campaign map will be "roughly twice the size" of Eye of the Vortex from the previous game.
- Those who own TWW1, TWW2 and TWW3 will be able to play a combined mega campaign called Immortal Empires.
- The TWW3 campaign will feature two new battle types:
- Survival battles in the Realm of Chaos.
- Minor settlement battles, some of these battle maps will feature a 360-degree angle of attack around a minor settlement.
- CA plans to update and re-work siege battles, following player feedback.
- There are also two smaller campaigns:
- Darkness & Disharmony, set in Cathay
- Something Rotten in Kislev, set in Kislev
Multiplayer[]
- Those who own all 3 games in the series will be able to play all content from all games/DLC in the multiplayer mode of TWW3.
- CA are introducing a new mode/battle type called domination which will feature capture point style mechanics and players may be able to summon reinforcement units during a match.
- Domination mode is intended to address player feedback about getting stuck in bad matchups, not being able to come back from behind, as well as players forcing draws by endlessly kiting.
Playable races[]
The following races have been announced as playable on release:
- Grand Cathay
The Northern Provinces, led by Miao Ying- The Western Provinces, led by Zhao Ming
- Khorne
- Exiles of Khorne, led by Skarbrand
- Kislev
- The Great Orthodoxy, led by Kostaltyn
- The Ice Court, led by Tzarina Katarin
- Ursun Revivalists, led by Boris Ursus
- Kislev Expedition, led by Yuri Barkov (The Lost God only)
- Nurgle
- Ogre Kingdoms - an early adopter bonus, free to players who either preorder the game or buy within the first week after release.
- Disciples of the Maw, led by Skrag the Slaughterer
- Goldtooth, led by Greasus Goldtooth
- Slaanesh
- Seducers of Slaanesh, led by N'Kari
- Tzeentch
- Oracles of Tzeentch, led by Kairos Fateweaver
Additionally, CA has confirmed that they wish to implement all the main races of Warhammer Fantasy as playable factions by the end of the trilogy. This means that if the Chaos Dwarfs do not appear as playable factions in TWW2, then they will appear in the third game at some point (possibly as DLC after release).
Development[]
High-res version of the key art, depicting Kislev vs Khorne.
Early development[]
In 2015, after Total War: Warhammer was announced but before it released, Creative Assembly announced that they planned to create a trilogy of Total War: Warhammer games.[1]
In 2016, Russian data-miners discovered plans in the Total War: Warhammer game files for a third game featuring Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch and Slaanesh as factions.
In June 2018, a blog post by Creative Assembly indicated that WH3 was in pre-production.[2]
In March 2019, another blog post indicated that motion-capture was being done for the game.[3]
In September 2019, it was stated in another blog that the game is "deep into production".[4]
In July 2020, another blog said the following:
- One event the current world situation [the global Covid-19 pandemic] has certainly put the crimpers on is us announcing our next major Total War title. As you can imagine it’s all a bit chaotic here at CA, so please bear with us
[]
A number of teaser trailers were released from 28 January to 2 February 2021.
- On 28 January 2021, Creative Assembly released "Azyr Stirs"
- On 1 February 2021, this was followed by another video called "Heed the Heavens"
- 2 February 2021 brought two videos each titled "Sigmar Protect us All" and another several hours later called "And all this on Geheimnisnacht Eve"
The videos feature an Empire Celestial Wizard using a telescope to view the stars at the Grand Astrolabe in Altdorf. In the first video he takes instructions from the Grand Theogonist to "heed the heavens" and sees a comet, which then reveals a constellation Grungni's Baldric. Later, further constellations are revealed: The Piper, the Drummer, and Rhya's Cauldron. The Wizard realises that each constellation appearing at this time of year (which is scientifically impossible) can only mean that "it is really happening" - the constellations represent Khorne, Tzeentch, Slaanesh and Nurgle respectively, they are omens of a Chaos Invasion. In the final video the constellation Ursun appears, and the Wizard speculates whether Ursun's people (Kislev) are saviours.
Announcement[]
- On 3 February 2021, Total War: Warhammer III was formally announced with a pre-rendered cinematic announcement trailer, accompanied by a FAQ article. The release date was announced to be "2021"
Further development and marketing[]
Another piece of key art depicting Grand Cathay vs Tzeentch.
- 12 May 2021 - "Trial by Fire" in-engine trailer
- 13 May 2021 - Kislev vs Khorne survival battle gameplay footage
- 19 May 2021 - "Enter the World of Kislev" in-engine trailer
- 22 May 2021 - Kislev Winged Lancers Unit Spotlight
- 25 May 2021 - Kislev War Sleds Unit Spotlight
- 28 May 2021 - Who is Kostaltyn of Kislev blog
- 31 May 2021 - "Blood Will Flow" teaser trailer
- 4 June 2021 - "Enter the World of Khorne" in-engine trailer
- 5 June 2021 - Khorne Flesh Hounds Unit Spotlight
- 8 June 2021 - Khorne Blood Thrones Unit Spotlight
- 15 June 2021 - Kislev full roster reveal blog
- 17 June 2021 - Khorne full roster reveal blog
- 18 June 2021 - Developer Q&A with the community blog
- 22 June 2021 - New battle types blog
- 19 July 2021 - What's next for Total War: Warhammer 3? Roster teases for Nurgle, Tzeentch and Slaanesh blog
- 13 September 2021 - A delay for the game was announced, pushing the release back until early 2022
- 14 September 2021
- 23 September 2021 - Who is Miao Ying, the Storm Dragon? blog
- 28 September 2021 - Who is Zhao Ming, the Iron Dragon? blog
- 6 October 2021 - Terracotta Sentinels Unit Spotlight video
- 8 October 2021 - Total War: WARHAMMER III Grand Cathay roster reveal
- 11 October 2021
- 13 October 2021 - Leading Grand Cathay – how the Eastern Empire dominates on the campaign map blog
- 14 October 2021 - The secrets of Grand Cathay – a roundtable with Andy Hall blog
- 15 October 2021
- 18 October 2021 - Let your foes feel the fury of winter with Kislev’s campaign mechanics blog
- 19 October 2021 - Grand Cathay vs. Tzeentch Great Bastion Battle gameplay footage
- 21 October 2021 - Kairos Fateweaver – oracle, seer, historian, and blind greater daemon of Tzeentch blog
- 25 October 2021 - Khorne Campaign Mechanics blog
- 26 October 2021 - Flamers of Tzeentch Unit Spotlight video
- 27 October 2021
- 29 October 2021 - Magic in Total War: WARHAMMER III – the storm cometh blog
- 1 November 2021 - The new spells of Total War: WARHAMMER III
- 3 November 2021 - Playing as Kairos – the power of the future, the past, and all magic is with you
- 4 November 2021
- Join the Ogre Kingdoms trailer
- Total War: WARHAMMER III FAQ - the release date was announced as 17 February 2022
- 5 November 2021 - Consume the world with the Ogre Kingdoms campaign mechanics blog
- 9 November 2021 - "Enter the World of Ogre Kingdoms" in-engine trailer
- 10 November 2021 - Oracles of Tzeentch vs Grand Cathay Battle Gameplay video
- 11 November 2021
- 12 November 2021 - Who is Skrag the Slaughterer? blog
- 16 November 2021
- 17 November 2021
- 18 November 2021
- 19 November 2021 - Plagues, pestilence, boils, and bulbous buboes – the joy of playing Nurgle in campaign blog
- 23 November 2021 - Total War: WARHAMMER III Nurgle Roster Reveal blog
- 25 November 2021 - "Enter the World of Nurgle" in-engine trailer
- 26 November 2021 - Nurgle vs Slaanesh Gameplay Battle video
- 3 December 2021 - Nurglings Unit Spotlight video
- 8 December 2021 - "Enter the World of Slaanesh" in-engine trailer
- 14 December 2021 - First Look of the Campaign Map video
- 16 December 2021
- 17 December 2021 - Fiends of Slaanesh Unit Spotlight
- 20 December 2021 - Ogre Kingdoms vs Exiles of Khorne Battle Gameplay video
- 11 January 2022 - Grand Cathay Let's play video
- 19 January 2022 - Chaos Undivided trailer
- 20 January 2022 - Daemon Prince Customisation video
- 25 January 2022 - Kislev Let's play video
- 27 January 2022 - Soul Grinders Unit Spotlight video
- 1 February 2022 - Daemons of Chaos Let's play video
- 4 February 2022 - Corruption Feature Guide video
- 9 February 2022 - Campaign Multiplayer video
Release and reception[]
- 11 February 2022 - Pre-load begins next Tuesday, February 15th! blog
- 17 February 2022 - release date
- Opencritic score: 88
- Steam review rating: 63, mixed
Postlaunch marketing[]
- 5 April 2022 - Patch Notes 1.1 trailer
- 14 April 2022 - What is Total War: Warhammer III trailer
- 29 April 2022 - Total War: WARHAMMER III 2022 Roadmap blog
- 17 May 2022 - Patch Notes 1.2 trailer
- 1 June 2022 - Immortal Empires teaser trailer
- 21 June 2022 - Total War: WARHAMMER III – The Immortal Empires Map blog
Gallery[]
Art[]
Placeholder box art
TWW3 artwork, no furies, with logo
TWW3 artwork, no furies, no logo
TWW3 artwork, with furies, no logo
TWW3 artwork, Cathay vs Tzeentch
Khorne art
Cathayn army
Kislev army
Tzeentch army
Screenshots[]
Survival battle showcase[]
Katarin
Katarin's army
Armies clash
Kislev[]
Kostaltyn
Leopard & casters
Armies clash
Grand Cathay[]
The Iron Dragon
The Storm Dragon
Cathayan army
Cathayan landscape
Khorne[]
Brass Citadel
Skarbrand
Khorne army
Khorne army #2
Tzeentch[]
Slaanesh[]
Nurgle[]
Ogre Kingdoms[]
Miscellaneous battle maps[]
Removed from Steam
Removed from Steam
Removed from Steam
Battle map aerial view
Valley battle map
Other[]
Potentially leaked
Potentially leaked
Shown on Games Workshop stream, note Khorne Minotaurs
Trivia[]
- According to a Russian leak from before the release of Total War: Warhammer, the third game would feature four factions: Khorne, Nurgle, Slaanesh and Tzeentch. This same leak listed Chaos Dwarfs and Ogre Kingdoms as DLC factions for TWW3, along with Tomb Kings and Skaven as DLC for TWW2. CA has since confirmed this leak but stated it was very outdated. Most of it was correct, with Skaven appearing as a base race of Total War: Warhammer II, Tomb Kings as a DLC and the four Chaos factions as base races for Total War: Warhammer III.
Links[]
- Steam store page
- Total War: Warhammer III Fanatical storefront, part of Fandom, offering over 9,000 officially licensed digital PC games from 1,100+ publishers.
