What if you could rewrite history? Imagine commanding armies, shaping empires, and altering the course of civilizations—all from your living room. That's the promise of the Total War series, a franchise that has captivated millions by blending strategy with historical immersion. But here's where it gets controversial: as these games strive to balance accuracy with authenticity, they spark a debate that goes beyond entertainment. Are they educational tools, or just elaborate fantasies? And this is the part most people miss: the very act of playing these games might change how we understand the past.
The Total War series, developed by Creative Assembly, has been a cornerstone of real-time strategy gaming for over 25 years. With installments set in ancient Rome, feudal Japan, and ancient Egypt, the franchise has sold over 35 million copies. But what sets Total War apart isn’t just its scale—it’s the developers’ relentless pursuit of historical authenticity. Take Total War: Medieval III, for instance. The team enlisted the expertise of Professor Peter Wilson, the University of Oxford’s Chichele Professor of the History of War, to ensure the game reflects the realities of medieval warfare.
Professor Wilson, surrounded by his floor-to-ceiling bookshelves at All Souls College, explains that his role goes beyond mere consultation. He sees video games as a powerful medium to engage the public with history. “Early modern and medieval warfare was really warfare in the era of grass,” he notes. “If you didn’t have grass, nothing could move. That’s the fuel for your horses and transport animals.” This attention to detail is evident in the game, where launching campaigns in winter is significantly harder—just as it would have been in reality.
But this relationship isn’t one-sided. Wilson argues that games like Total War can also deepen our understanding of history. “It gets you to think about fundamental questions: what were the motivations, what counts as a victory or success, what counts as meaningful change?” he says. By forcing players to grapple with these questions, the game becomes more than just entertainment—it becomes a tool for critical thinking.
Yet, Total War isn’t alone in this historical venture. Games like Red Dead Redemption, Crusader Kings, and Assassin’s Creed have also transported players to different eras, each with its own approach to historical representation. Assassin’s Creed, for example, earned praise for its collaboration with local experts and historians to recreate Golden Age Baghdad with full Arabic voice acting. But this raises a question: does all this effort make the games more fun?
Luke Holmes, a senior designer at Creative Assembly, believes it does. “If you can capture the feel of a period, I think that actually makes it more fun,” he says. “It’s more grounded, the stakes are higher. It makes you feel like what you’re doing is real and it matters.” However, Holmes admits there are limits. Total accuracy would make the game a slog, so the team often prioritizes authenticity—the feeling of the past—over strict factual correctness.
This distinction is crucial. While Total War games are rooted in history, they allow players to diverge from the “real” path, answering their own “what if” questions. As game director Pawel Wojs puts it, “It’s a sandbox game, so the player can change it ultimately, but we want to set the stage as authentically as possible. Then the player makes their own history.”
But here’s the controversial part: does this blending of fact and fiction do a disservice to history? Or does it democratize it, making it accessible to a broader audience? And what about the educational value—are these games teaching us anything meaningful, or are they just glorified simulations?
What do you think? Is Total War a groundbreaking way to engage with history, or does it risk oversimplifying the past? Let us know in the comments—we’d love to hear your thoughts!
