Total War Saga: TROY will be free to keep on launch day thanks to Epic Games
Total War Saga: TROY will be free to keep on launch day thanks to Epic Games
Now before you get out your anti-Epic pitchforks, we have another detail to add. The game will be available for free on the Epic Games Store on day-1, allowing all fans of the franchise to acquire the game for free if they have an internet connection on August 13th. Nobody’s being forced to pay Epic Games for Total War Saga: TROY because the game will be available for free on launch day.Â
SEGA has confirmed that this deal will not extend to any other PC gamers, and Creative Assembly has further confirmed that this deal will not impact any future Total War releases.Â
To celebrate Total War’s 20th anniversary, PC gamers will be able to gain access to the latest Total War game for free, and Epic Games is paying for that. This move will bring the Total War franchise to more gamers than ever, and Creative Assembly believes that this move will help diversify their fanbase and bring new gamers to the series.Â
For players, Creative Assembly sees this as a risk-free move, as all you need to access Total War Saga: TROY on day-1 is a free Epic Games Store account. You don’t need to pay Epic Games anything to access Total War Saga: TROY on day-1, and that’s a generous move for the Epic Games Store.Â
Below is what Creative Assembly had to say about its deal with the Epic Games Store.Â
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  Here it is: A Total War Saga: TROY is an Epic Games Store exclusive for 12 months – and will be available for free if you claim it in the first 24 hours.
That’s right – we’re giving away TROY for free, to keep, as long as you claim it in the 24 hour window!
We’re really excited about TROY, and we’re even more excited that this will give more of you the chance to play and enjoy it than might have had it otherwise. While we know that some of you won’t like the Epic Games Store exclusivity, we feel like this is a great opportunity for us in a lot of ways, and we’re hoping that you’ll take some time to hear us out and for us to answer what some of the questions we think you might have.
First of all: this is an opportunity for TROY specifically, and we have no plans for future games to be Epic exclusives. As developers we truly value our existing fans, but at the same time we want to reach new audiences and have as many people as possible experiencing the thrill of Total War for themselves. As a business that means putting Total War onto new platforms so that it can reach more players. This is part of that and in principal we’d like future Total War titles to be simultaneously available, from launch day, on as many store fronts as possible.
Right now, this is a one-time, one-year exclusive deal for TROY. We’ve always said that Saga titles allow us to experiment, and this is an experiment on a grand scale. TROY seemed like a good game to try this out with, especially as pre-orders aren’t live on Steam yet, so no one’s already put money into a store they’ll have to wait 12 extra months for it to appear on.
So now that’s out the way, here’s a little more backstory. Epic approached us and asked if TROY could be an Epic exclusive, as part of a commercial deal. That’s not to say that we immediately signed on the dotted line, or that money was the only reason that we did this (it’s not!). It was a difficult decision, and you can be assured that there were a lot of differing opinions in the studio, and a lot of discussions about it – which largely focussed on what it would mean for you, the players.
However, ultimately we considered two things. First we’re at a time when we’re looking to invest more into the ongoing development of Total War this felt like an opportunity to really move the franchise forward by getting it in front of more people. Secondly, Epic were paying for our players to have our latest release free on day one. For Total War’s 20th birthday, that felt like an opportunity too good to pass up.
You can join the discussion on Total War Saga: TROY being available for free on day-1 on the OC3D Forums.Â