Every Total War game, ranked
All 12 Total War games we hold, spanning 2006 to 2022: 12 ranked by the GamingPickz Score and plotted below, the rest listed in release order so nothing in the series is missing. Together they carry 727,866 Steam reviews.
Where to start
- For the best-reviewed: Total War: WARHAMMER II (GamingPickz Score 8.4), the highest-rated entry we can score.
- For canon order: begin with Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition (2006) and follow the release-order timeline below.
- For the money: Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition gives the most score per dollar right now.
The Total War games on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueThe same 12 games, plotted rather than listed. The two axes below are the ones the ranking is built from, so a game sitting high and right is a game the formula placed near the top. Change either axis to see the field a different way. Where we hold a publisher wordmark, the game is drawn as its mark rather than a dot.
12 games have both
Axes are fitted to these 12 games rather than the full 0 to 100 scale, because a filtered list shares a narrow band and would otherwise sit in one corner. End values are marked. A point on the left edge is the lowest of thesegames, not a low score.
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
12 best Total War games, ranked
Ordered by GamingPickz Score. Every figure links back to the source that produced it.
- 1
Total War: WARHAMMER II
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
8.4GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: WARHAMMER II at a glance Released 2017 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 93% positive of 121,450 Critics 87/100 Price $59.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 60 GB Accessibility 8 declared features Raw 93% shrinks to 93.0 on 121,450 reviews, then blends with the 87 critic aggregate, giving 8.4.
What the data supports- 93% positive across 121,450 reviews is a strong signal at that volume, where a few enthusiasts cannot move the number.
- Declares 8 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 2
Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition
Best for: Playing with other people
8.2GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTotal War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2006 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 96% positive of 36,357 Critics No aggregate Price $24.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 15 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 96% shrinks to 95.9 on 36,357 reviews, giving 8.2. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 3
Total War: Shogun 2
Best for: A consistently well-received pick in this category
8.1GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: Shogun 2 at a glance Released 2011 Studio Creative Assembly Player sentiment 92% positive of 67,604 Critics 90/100 Price Not listed Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 92% shrinks to 92.0 on 67,604 reviews, then blends with the 90 critic aggregate, giving 8.1.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 4
Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
8.1GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2009 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 91% positive of 38,055 Critics 90/100 Price $24.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 6 declared features Raw 91% shrinks to 90.9 on 38,055 reviews, then blends with the 90 critic aggregate, giving 8.1.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 5
Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition
Best for: Playing with other people
7.9GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition at a glance Released 2010 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 92% positive of 27,543 Critics 81/100 Price $24.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size Not stated Accessibility 6 declared features Raw 92% shrinks to 91.9 on 27,543 reviews, then blends with the 81 critic aggregate, giving 7.9.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 6
Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
7.8GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: ROME II - Emperor Edition at a glance Released 2013 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 88% positive of 88,148 Critics 76/100 Price $59.99 Steam Deck playable Install size Not stated Accessibility 7 declared features Raw 88% shrinks to 88.0 on 88,148 reviews, then blends with the 76 critic aggregate, giving 7.8.
What the data supports- Declares 7 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 7
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
7.7GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: THREE KINGDOMS at a glance Released 2019 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 82% positive of 93,602 Critics 85/100 Price $39.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 60 GB Accessibility 8 declared features Raw 82% shrinks to 82.0 on 93,602 reviews, then blends with the 85 critic aggregate, giving 7.7.
What the data supports- Declares 8 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 8
Total War: WARHAMMER
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
7.5GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: WARHAMMER at a glance Released 2016 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 79% positive of 52,323 Critics 86/100 Price $59.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 35 GB Accessibility 7 declared features Raw 79% shrinks to 79.0 on 52,323 reviews, then blends with the 86 critic aggregate, giving 7.5.
What the data supports- Declares 7 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
Total War: ATTILA at a glance Released 2015 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 82% positive of 37,686 Critics 80/100 Price $44.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 35 GB Accessibility 7 declared features Raw 82% shrinks to 82.0 on 37,686 reviews, then blends with the 80 critic aggregate, giving 7.4.
What the data supports- Declares 7 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- 10
Total War: WARHAMMER III
Best for: Playing through with a friend online
7.3GamingPickz Scorehigh confidenceTotal War: WARHAMMER III at a glance Released 2022 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 71% positive of 147,877 Critics 86/100 Price $59.99 Steam Deck unsupported Install size 120 GB Accessibility 8 declared features Raw 71% shrinks to 71.0 on 147,877 reviews, then blends with the 86 critic aggregate, giving 7.3.
What the data supports- Declares 8 accessibility features, well above the catalogue norm.
Worth checking first- Critics rate it well above players, 86 against 71. Worth reading why before buying.
- Flagged for mature content on its store page.
- Valve rates it Unsupported on the Steam Deck.
- 11
Total War: ROME REMASTERED
Best for: Playing with other people
6.7GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTotal War: ROME REMASTERED at a glance Released 2021 Studio Creative Assembly Player sentiment 77% positive of 13,722 Critics No aggregate Price $29.99 Steam Deck playable Install size 45 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 77% shrinks to 77.2 on 13,722 reviews, giving 6.7. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Cloud saves and cross-platform play, so progress follows you between machines.
- 12
Total War Battles: KINGDOM
Best for: Playing with other people
4.9GamingPickz Scoremedium confidenceTotal War Battles: KINGDOM at a glance Released 2015 Studio CREATIVE ASSEMBLY Player sentiment 52% positive of 3,499 Critics No aggregate Price Not listed Steam Deck unknown Install size 2 GB Accessibility 0 declared features Raw 52% shrinks to 55.3 on 3,499 reviews, giving 4.9. No critics data, so that weight was redistributed across the rest rather than counted as zero.
What the data supports- Small install at 2 GB.
Best and worst entry
The best-received Total War game we can score is Total War: WARHAMMER II at 8.4. The lowest is Total War Battles: KINGDOM at 4.9, a 3.5-point spread across the series. The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
How the series scored over time
GamingPickz Score against release year, 2006 to 2022. The later entries score lower than the earlier ones: the series has been trending down.
Cheapest way in, and best value
- Cheapest right now: Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition at $24.99. Prices are read live from Steam and move.
- Best value: Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition, the most GamingPickz Score per dollar in the series at its current price.
On a Steam Deck
Valve's own Deck compatibility rating for the Total War entries on Steam:
- Playable: Total War: MEDIEVAL II – Definitive Edition, Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition, Total War: Shogun 2, Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition, Total War: ATTILA, Total War: WARHAMMER, Total War: WARHAMMER II, Total War: THREE KINGDOMS, Total War: ROME REMASTERED
- Unsupported: Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition, Total War: WARHAMMER III
Platforms across the series
Where the 12 Total War games have landed, counting every entry we hold:
| Platform family | Entries |
|---|---|
| PC | 12 of 12 |
The Total War series, game by game
Every Total War game we hold, in release order. Each description is the game's own, from Steam where it has a listing and Wikipedia for the older entries, never ours.
- 2006
Spanning the most turbulent era in Western history, your quest for territory and power takes you through Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and even onto the shores of the New World. (Steam)
- 2009
Command the seas, control the land, forge a new nation, and conquer the globe. (Steam)
- 2010
Complete your Total War collection with this Definitive Edition of Total War: NAPOLEON, which includes all DLC and feature updates since the game’s release (Steam)
- 2011
Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy video game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega in 2011. It is the seventh mainline entry in the Total War series and returns to the setting of the first Total War game, Shogun: Total War, after a series of games set mainly in Europe and the Middle East. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Reception Total War: Shogun 2 received "universal acclaim", according to review aggregator Metacritic . Al Bickham of PC Gamer gave Shogun 2 a score of 92%. In his review, he praised the game's visual design, music and atmosphere, attention to detail, refined and simplified troop variety, the "pleasing geometric puzzle" of siege battles, and the marked improvement to the enemy's artificial intelligence on both the campaign map and during battles compared… (Wikipedia)
- 2013
Emperor Edition is the definitive edition of ROME II, featuring an improved politics system, overhauled building chains, rebalanced battles and improved visuals in both campaign and battleEmperor Edition contains all free feature updates since its release in 2013, which includes bug fixes, balancing, Twitch. (Steam)
- 2015
Against a darkening background of famine, disease and war, a new power is rising in the great steppes of the East. With a million horsemen at his back, the ultimate warrior king approaches, and his sights are set on Rome… The next instalment in the multi award-winning PC series that combines turn-based strategy with real-time tactics,... (Steam)
- 2015
The Cross Platform, bite-sized Total War – Easy to pick up, quick-fire strategy gaming sessions where you can expand your realm and fight battles no matter which device you choose. (Steam)
- 2016
The Old World is yours to command. Lead Legendary Lords in a combination of turn-based campaign and magically charged, strategic real-time battles, and decide the fate of your chosen race in a fight against Chaos. (Steam)
- 2017
The forces of Lustria await your command. Choose your Legendary Lord, expand your armies, forge alliances in a strategic turn-based campaign, and unleash the might of your monstrous forces in fast-paced real-time battles. (Steam)
- 2019
Unite Ancient China under your rule through a thrilling blend of turn-based empire building and real-time battles. Use the Guanxi System and diplomacy to forge alliances, and build powerful armies with hundreds of unique infantry, cavalry and war machine units. (Steam)
- 2021
Total War: ROME REMASTERED lets you relive the legacy that defined the award-winning strategy game series. Remastered to 4K with multiple improvements to visuals as well as refinements to gameplay, it’s time to revisit a true classic. Not everyone gets a second chance to conquer the Roman Empire. (Steam)
- 2022
The cataclysmic conclusion to the Total War: WARHAMMER trilogy is here. Rally your forces and step into the Realm of Chaos, a dimension of mind-bending horror where the very fate of the world will be decided. Will you conquer your Daemons… or command them? (Steam)
Total War, head to head
Two entries side by side on score, price, specs and reception:
Total War vs other series
How Total War stacks up against other series in the same genre, as a whole:
Also: Total War vs Tropico, Total War vs Age of History, Total War vs Beholder, Total War vs Bloons TD, Total War vs Brothers in Arms, Total War vs Call to Arms, Total War vs Crusader Kings, Total War vs Day of Defeat, Total War vs Door Kickers, Total War vs Dungeons, Total War vs ENDLESS Space, Total War vs Europa Universalis, Total War vs Frostpunk, Total War vs Hearts of Iron, Total War vs Insurgency, Total War vs Jurassic World Evolution, Total War vs Kingdom, Total War vs Men of War, Total War vs Overcooked, Total War vs Payday, Total War vs Poker Night, Total War vs Red Orchestra, Total War vs Soda Dungeon, Total War vs Stronghold, Total War vs Stronghold Crusader, Total War vs The Escapists, Total War vs The Sims, Total War vs Transport Fever, Total War vs Universe Sandbox, Total War vs Victoria
Common questions
How many Total War games are there?
We hold 12 Total War games in the catalogue, released between 2006 and 2022. 12 of them carry enough Steam data to rank; the rest are listed in release order below, including console-only entries with no Steam listing.
Which Total War game is best?
By the GamingPickz Score, Total War: WARHAMMER II rates highest at 8.4. That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, computed the same way for every game, not our opinion. The full ranking is above.
What order should I play the Total War games in?
Release order is listed below, from 2006 to 2022. For most series that is also story order, but we list dates rather than telling you a canon; the timeline is read from Wikidata.
More franchises
Browse every game franchise ranked the same way, or head to the full grid.