Creative Assembly and SEGA have announced a surprise for fans of Total War: Pharaoh. Later this month, owners of the real-time strategy game will receive a free expansion-sized standalone title called Total War: Pharaoh – Dynasties.
Game Director Todor Nikolov said in a statement:
From the outset of our design journey on Total War: Pharaoh, our vision has always been to deliver a grand-scale recreation of the turbulent Bronze Age Collapse; one brimming with historical intrigue, authentic representations of iconic civilisation, and a sandbox theatre that allows you to rewrite the course of human history. We’re very proud of what we’ve achieved, and whilst this will be our final content addition, we hope it serves as a love letter that encapsulates our continued passion for this wonderful age. Thanks for your support.
Total War: Pharaoh – Dynasties will be released for PC on July 25, while Feral Interactive is already preparing the macOS version, which should be released shortly afterward.
Here’s a summary of what players can expect in this freebie:
- 4 new major factions
- 25 new minor factions
- 150+ new and reworked units, including cavalry
- 168 new settlements Expanded Campaign map (1.8x bigger)
- New battle mechanics e.g., Lethality
- New DYNASTIES family tree system
- Fixes for Legacy bugs
Do note that Total War: Pharaoh – Dynasties is launched through a separate app from your Steam library and cannot be purchased as a standalone game. Save files won’t carry over from the base game, and there is no cross-progression. Dynasties will require around 80GB of free disk space, but the good news is you won’t have to keep the base Total War: Pharaoh installed to play it.
The Blood & Sand DLC works with Dynasties. On the other hand, a new version of the Assembly Kit is required for Dynasties mods, so legacy mods for Pharaoh will have to be updated via the new kit and re-uploaded to the Dynasties Steam workshop page to work.
Total War: Pharaoh debuted in October 2023. Our resident strategy fan Chris Wray gave it 9 out of 10:
Total War: Pharaoh is a successful return to pure history for the series. While some may not like aspects, such as a limited unit variety and a map that can feel a little narrow in areas, the gameplay is enhanced across the board thanks to a variety of features, increased tactical options in combat, and more.
