Total War: Three Kingdoms, the next major game in the renowned strategy series to come from Creative Assembly, was due to release in a few weeks’ time, on the 7th of March. However, in a development update announced today, the studio has chosen to delay the release date. The game will now launch on the 23rd of May, over two-and-a-half months later than originally planned.

We're moving the release date of Total War: THREE KINGDOMS to 23 May 2019. To read the FAQ, please click here: https://t.co/ptwg22ZQlN pic.twitter.com/JHai1yufQN — Total War (@totalwar) February 11, 2019

Creative Assembly Delays the Total War: Three Kingdoms Release Date

“It’s been an incredibly busy and exciting time for us in the studio,” says Creative Assembly; “We’ve been able to show you more of Three Kingdoms than ever before and taking the time to evaluate it thoroughly. There are some revolutionary features going in and it’s looking really good. But we want to make sure it’s great. So we’re moving the release date to 23 May, 2019.”

While the news is likely to be disappointing for fans, most can probably agree that they would rather have a delay than get an unfinished or unpolished game. Given the recent backlash to games like Fallout 76 and Battlefield 5, both of which launched with significant bug problems, it may be that Creative Assembly is being extra cautious. The studio isn’t commenting on any specific issues, but they do say that; “We need a little more time to make sure these systems deliver as intended and give you the Total War experience you’ve waited so patiently for. Of course, the extra time won’t hurt when it comes to fixing those bugs that have been hard to nail down, getting the localisation just right, and addition additional polish to help it shine.”

The delay of the Total War: Three Kingdoms release date won’t affect anybody’s pre-orders; all of which are still valid. The only change is the release date delay from March 7th to May 23rd. Creative Assembly also reassures fans that the delay won’t affect the upcoming Total War: Warhammer 2 DLC. However, due to the delay, that DLC will now launch before the release of Three Kingdoms instead of after.