Medieval 3 game director thinks ‘recreating’ the classics would not produce a ‘good’ TW title: ‘Medieval 2 would not stand up to modern Total War’

Total War: Medieval 3 is going to be CA's first historical game in a very long time by the time it comes out, and it seems the company is trying its best to be as transparent about the game as possible. And, as part of that transparency, game director Pawel Wojs commented on what CA is doing to make Medieval 3 great, saying that simply remaking the classics and calling it a day wouldn't suffice. Speaking to Slitherine Games, Wojs said the "whole point of the rebirth of historical [[i]Total War[/i]] is building on that legacy [of the [i]Medieval [/i]series]" and that Creative Assembly is "very familiar with what made Medieval 2 work." Wojs himself was a developer on Medieval 2 over 20 years ago, but nevertheless believes merely recreating it in Medieval 3 wouldn't produce good results.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu22swUR4w4 "Recreating it just baseline as it was would not make a good game," Wojs said, adding that "without the nostalgia and rose-tinted spectacles, it would not stand up to modern Total War." That's a rather loaded sentence, considering just how many players in the Total War community constantly complain about how good the games used to be. And what's more, many of them are right, as the move to the Warscape Engine from Rome 2 onwards fundamentally reshaped how TW functioned, in many cases for the worse. But sure, Medieval 2, as well as some of the other old Total War titles, had many quirks and clunky mechanics that would not live up to modern standards, though they were far, far deeper and more intricate than the new games ever could be. Despite this, CA recognizes there are elements of older Total War titles and Medieval 2 in particular that are being used as guides for Medieval 3: "[We are] taking the elements that we feel were really strong and worked really well, be it slotless construction or upgrades on units, all of that stuff that we know our community really values." "[We're looking] at how that can fit within the new vision for Medieval 3," he said. They're not only going to pre-Warscape titles to search for inspiration, as Wojs says CA is actively scanning Rome 2, Shogun 2, Empire, and other Total War titles to identify what worked and what didn't, ultimately helping them craft as good an experience as possible in Medieval 3. CA is also trying to come up with new, innovative concepts, including mechanics that it has always wanted to implement but was limited either by technology or other factors. "Now we have the flexibility to rebuild some of those foundational features from scratch," he said. So they are genuinely trying to make Medieval 3 into the ultimate historical Total War, or at least they're telling us so. I will add a personal note that no matter what stance you have on older titles like Medieval 2, it does one crucial thing better than any modern entry to the series: modability. Don't like how it works? Just totally overhaul it free of charge. Let's see Warhammer 3 get that same treatment ever, with players coming back in 2046 to tailor the experience to themselves. The post Medieval 3 game director thinks ‘recreating’ the classics would not produce a ‘good’ TW title: ‘Medieval 2 would not stand up to modern Total War’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Mar 28, 2026 - 02:03

Medieval 3 game director thinks ‘recreating’ the classics would not produce a ‘good’ TW title: ‘Medieval 2 would not stand up to modern Total War’

Total War: Medieval 3 is going to be CA's first historical game in a very long time by the time it comes out, and it seems the company is trying its best to be as transparent about the game as possible. And, as part of that transparency, game director Pawel Wojs commented on what CA is doing to make Medieval 3 great, saying that simply remaking the classics and calling it a day wouldn't suffice.

Speaking to Slitherine Games, Wojs said the "whole point of the rebirth of historical [[i]Total War[/i]] is building on that legacy [of the [i]Medieval [/i]series]" and that Creative Assembly is "very familiar with what made Medieval 2 work." Wojs himself was a developer on Medieval 2 over 20 years ago, but nevertheless believes merely recreating it in Medieval 3 wouldn't produce good results.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cu22swUR4w4 "Recreating it just baseline as it was would not make a good game," Wojs said, adding that "without the nostalgia and rose-tinted spectacles, it would not stand up to modern Total War." That's a rather loaded sentence, considering just how many players in the Total War community constantly complain about how good the games used to be. And what's more, many of them are right, as the move to the Warscape Engine from Rome 2 onwards fundamentally reshaped how TW functioned, in many cases for the worse.

But sure, Medieval 2, as well as some of the other old Total War titles, had many quirks and clunky mechanics that would not live up to modern standards, though they were far, far deeper and more intricate than the new games ever could be.

Despite this, CA recognizes there are elements of older Total War titles and Medieval 2 in particular that are being used as guides for Medieval 3: "[We are] taking the elements that we feel were really strong and worked really well, be it slotless construction or upgrades on units, all of that stuff that we know our community really values."

"[We're looking] at how that can fit within the new vision for Medieval 3," he said. They're not only going to pre-Warscape titles to search for inspiration, as Wojs says CA is actively scanning Rome 2, Shogun 2, Empire, and other Total War titles to identify what worked and what didn't, ultimately helping them craft as good an experience as possible in Medieval 3.

CA is also trying to come up with new, innovative concepts, including mechanics that it has always wanted to implement but was limited either by technology or other factors. "Now we have the flexibility to rebuild some of those foundational features from scratch," he said.

So they are genuinely trying to make Medieval 3 into the ultimate historical Total War, or at least they're telling us so. I will add a personal note that no matter what stance you have on older titles like Medieval 2, it does one crucial thing better than any modern entry to the series: modability. Don't like how it works? Just totally overhaul it free of charge.

Let's see Warhammer 3 get that same treatment ever, with players coming back in 2046 to tailor the experience to themselves.

The post Medieval 3 game director thinks ‘recreating’ the classics would not produce a ‘good’ TW title: ‘Medieval 2 would not stand up to modern Total War’ appeared first on Destructoid.

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