While we’ve known that Total War: Warhammer was planned as a trilogy from the get-go, we’ve learned (via PCGamesn) that Creative Assembly has begun full development on the second game in the Total War: Warhammer franchise.

This is made possible by Creative Assembly having two teams working on the series, a “main” team that works on the core games, and a team focusing entirely on new content for the current game.

Brand director Rob Bartholomew says work on episode two “has been underway for some time already and is now a key focus for the studio. It’s time to travel to new lands and discover new races.”

Now that Total War: Warhammer’s Bretonnia downloadable content has been released, Creative Assembly has confirmed that work on the first game has largely come to an end. There will still be free DLC coming to the game in the interim, however you shouldn’t expect premium content.

Both the second and final games in the series will be standalone releases with their own campaign maps, each featuring a “quartet” of starting factions like the first game. Bartholomew also confirmed maps will be “as big or bigger” than the ones seen in the first game, and that sequels will naturally get DLC.

Here’s the kicker – the upcoming sequels will integrate with the original game, expanding its map and its faction roster. This means if you end up owning all three games, you’ll have a ridiculous story campaign spanning three realms of the Warhammer world, as well as all the playable races.

Finally, Bartholomew confirmed to PC Gamer that the previously teased historical entry in the Total War series is also coming along. Bartholomew continues:

“Meanwhile, our historical team are also working on a major triple-A title in an era we’ve not visited yet. Over 1.2 million people play Total War every month, with the majority playing our previous games. We haven’t forgotten that.”

Total War: Warhammer is currently available on PC and Linux (Mac version is still in the works) – you can read our review for the game here (we highly recommend it!).