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Total War: Warhammer III Causes Review Bomb After a Poorly Handled Promotional Event

By Weilin Li
Feb. 16, 2022 updated 04:28

As the game sets one of its empires, Grand Cathay, in China, Total War: Warhammer III has been very well received on Steam among Chinese players in the pre-order period, but now those fans are furious.

Many people were livestreaming Warhammer III as playtests on Feb 10th.Many people were livestreaming Warhammer III as playtests on Feb 10th.

Developer Creative Assembly (CA) has handed out playtest invitations to streamers on Douyu, the largest streaming platform in China. However, the streamers invited raised some serious questions. Many of them don’t seem to be interested in the game at all, while some rumors claim that even beauty and pet streamers can play the game early. Watching these streamers play games they are not enthusiastic about to fulfill their contract has left Chinese Warhammer fans feeling disappointed and frustrated while they wait for the release on February 17th.

When playing the game, these streamers were very perfunctory as they didn’t take to the challenges or work out the strategies necessary to pass through the game. Meanwhile, some game-focused streamers spoiled important story beats for their fans, destroying their anticipation for Warhammer III.

CA has managed well in previous playtests when testers could only choose from limited campaigns and play existing rounds. But the company’s latest response to the controversy has further escalated the conflict.

The manager of CA Player Experience said in a Bilibili post on February 11th: "You will see Total War: Warhammer III everywhere from now on and in the coming weeks. This is because we are trying to introduce the game to more players. Those players who meet the game will drive Warhammer 3 up to a new level, and it also means the game will have a better future…"

The Steam reviews for Warhammer II

The Steam reviews for Warhammer II

After seeing this chaotic management, many Chinese players have asked for a refund of their money and posted very negative reviews for Total War: Warhammer II on Steam in an attempt to show their dissatisfaction.