Total War: Pharaoh Announced, Arrives October This Year

Sega and Creative Assembly have announced Total War: Pharaoh, the next instalment in the long-running strategy franchise, with an October 2023 PC release window.

Total War: Pharaoh will take players to the turbulent Egyptian New Kingdom period where they'll determine the fate of three great cultures as they fight for survival amid the Bronze Age collapse.

"There are few periods more iconic than Ancient Egypt; fraught with political intrigue, cataclysmic events, and grand war campaigns, it's the perfect setting for a Total War title," said game director Todor Nikolov.

"As Pharaoh, you must save Egypt from the cusp of destruction and guide your people through the calamitous Bronze Age collapse. It is up to you to either survive or fade into history."

Players will have a choice of eight Faction Leaders as they set about charming the courts, charging into battle, or causing chaos as a brutal warlord and uncover the rich land that was Ancient Egypt. These include the Egyptian factions of Ramesses, Seti, Tausret, and Amenmesse; the Canaanite factions of Bay and Irsu; and the Hittite factions of Kurunta and Suppiluliuma.

Opposing armies are just half the battle, however, as players must also contend with sandstorms and thunderstorms, flaming forests, and other dynamically shifting battlefields.

Total War: Pharaoh also includes a franchise-first Campaign Customisation feature that ensure unique conquests on every run. Players can randomise the starting positions for all factions, alter resource settings, increase the chance of natural disasters, and so on.

Those who preorder Total War: Pharaoh will gain entry to an Early Access weekend (though no date was given for this yet), alongside the Avatar of the Gods Cosmetic pack and the Heart of the Shardana Cosmetic pack.

The base game will cost $59.99 while a Deluxe Edition (that comes with a digital soundtrack and DLC Faction Pack 1) costs $72.87 and a Dynasty Edition (that comes with a digital soundtrack, all three DLC Faction Packs, and the DLC Campaign Pack) costs $91.46.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.