Total War: Three Kingdoms

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Total War: Three Kingdoms is a strategy game from Creative Assembly, published by Sega. It released for Windows on May 23, 2019, with Linux and macOS versions coming the same day.

Set during the fall of the Han dynasty and the start of the Three Kingdoms era (around 190–280 AD), you pick a faction led by a powerful warlord—such as Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Sun Quan—and work to unite China and become its emperor. You’ll fight sieges with both infantry and cavalry, and your army is made up of up to three generals on the battlefield (plus three in reserve). The generals have unique abilities, items, and skills, and some can duel each other in one-on-one fights. You can also capture enemy generals’ special items after they are defeated, like Lü Bu’s Red Hare.

A new idea in the game, called guanxi, creates social links between generals and other characters. Their happiness and relationships affect how well your campaigns go, so you need to manage personalities and demands as you play. Generals can be more than just army leaders: their interactions with you and others add a storytelling layer to the strategy.

Two main modes let you choose how you want the story to unfold. Romance mode follows the legendary, more fantastical aspects of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, giving generals near-superhuman powers. Records mode sticks closer to history, removes some magical abilities, and changes certain equipment to feel more authentic.

Development and reception: Creative Assembly improved the game’s artificial intelligence and user interface and introduced guanxi as a core feature, with a consultant on the period helping guide the design. The game was announced in 2018 after initial plans for 2018 release and released in May 2019. It was praised for its character-driven gameplay and storytelling, though some reviews noted that the real-time battles could feel shallow compared to the campaign and its other innovations. The Romance mode was widely admired for adding fresh flavor to the series.

The game set records for pre-orders and concurrent players on Steam at launch, and it quickly became the fastest-selling Total War game in the series, selling over a million copies in its first week and surpassing 3 million copies sold by March 2025.