Total War: Three Kingdoms delayed till May

It’ll be a little longer before you can get to strategising, spying, and skirmishing in Total War: Three Kingdoms. Publishers Sega have announced that the next instalment in the tactics series won’t be bringing players into the ancient Chinese Han dynasty until the 23rd of May.

The game was first slated to release in autumn of last year, and then pushed to this spring. At first that was supposed to be March 7th, but the developers have decided they need a little more time to get all of their horses in a row.

In the meantime, though, they’ve been drip-feeding plenty of information about exactly how the game will work. Edwin Evans-Thirlwell has tested out the fighting (it’s a Total War game) and the espionage (a promising new addition), as well as getting another hands-on just last month to detail how its people-driven politics give it a distinctly soap opera sort of feel.

It seems like those historical figures are still getting their machinations in order, but The Creative Assembly’s studio brand director remains chipper: “We’re lucky to be in a position to do the right thing for our games, and in this case, it means taking the time to get everything ready for you,” he says. “It’s important that we give you a game that you can enjoy to the fullest, and we’re excited for you to see what we have in store.”

After all, in game development as in war, it’s always best to wait until everything's just right before striking.