Nippon and other brand-new races not on the Total War: Warhammer 3 roadmap right now

Writer Andy Hall dispels misplaced hopes for other new factions

The Total War: Warhammer series really opened the floodgates for some of the wildest dreams fans of the tabletop miniature game had nourished in their imaginations for decades. Developer Creative Assembly and IP owner Games Workshop collaborated very closely with each other, which resulted in unprecedented freedom for the British studio when it comes to adding its own content to the grimdark fantasy universe, such as the Vampire Coast and, most recently, the Dragon Empire of Cathay.

That development had filled players with hope that other nebulous factions such as Nippon – the Warhammer version of feudal Japan – or the Kingdoms of Ind with their Tigermen and their main rivals, the Nagas of Kuresh, would eventually make their way into Total War: Warhammer 3 as complete factions. However, Total War writer Andy Hall, has now once again dispelled hopes of that kind during an interview with Rookery Publications.

“Don’t hold your breath,” Hall stated responding to a question about Nippon being added to the strategy game. He went on to expand that answer to any other brand-new factions, saying that these are “not on the roadmap” currently. The creation of Cathay, he said, was a very unique moment of collaboration, since Creative Assembly had recently acquired lots of experience at designing not just Chinese-inspired armies through Total War: Three Kingdoms, but making a game that specifically appealed to an Eastern audience – a valuable pool of knowhow for Games Workshop, which also seeks to expand its presence on the Asian market.

Overall, there is only a small amount of “races left” that Creative Assembly can bring to the game, Hall explained. Chaos Dwarfs, of course, are up next, but that doesn’t mean that Total War: Warhammer 3 will lack new content in the future.

Cathay, Kislev, and several older races will be expanded in future updates, Hall confirmed. The writer even completed some descriptions for new Cathay content last week, though naturally he didn’t give any details. He hinted that a revisit of Kislev would likely include a look at the other part of that nation’s dominating religion, which is the more “wild and wandering” aspect presented in existing literature containing Kislev. Some of the old legendary lords may be upgraded with fresh game mechanics as well.

Other interesting tidbits Hall shared during the interview included the confirmation that no matter how esoteric a unit is in the existing lore, if Creative Assembly needs it to flesh out a roster, it’ll be on the table: “We won’t just scratch the bottom of the barrel, but go through the base of the floor.” Nagash and Thanquol are also on the writer’s radar, as he’d love to have as many of Warhammer’s prominent characters as possible in the game.

In terms of DLC types, Total War: Warhammer 3 will very likely see a bit of innovation compared to the established Lord Packs from its predecessor – last year’s Champions of Chaos DLC has already given fans a taste of that.

Hall also mentioned that Miao Ying and Zhao Ming, the Cathayan legendary lords featured in the vanilla version, were originally planned to be voiced by two Oscar-nominated actors, but that didn’t work out in the end.

Finally, here’s something for you to interpret and put into the rumor mill: Asked if Warhammer 40,000 could be adapted to Total War the same way Warhammer Fantasy was, Hall said that he didn’t know and that he was focused on Total War: Warhammer 3 – “at the moment.”

We actually don’t advocate that you over-interpret this, but with some past job listings indicating that Creative Assembly is working on a Total War title that includes vehicles of different kinds, a possibility of Total War: Warhammer 40,000 being in the works exists.