Total War: Warhammer III is a video game that combines turn-based strategy and real-time tactics. It was created by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The game is part of the Total War series and is the third in the series set in Games Workshop's Warhammer Fantasy fictional universe, following Total War: Warhammer (2016) and Total War: Warhammer II (2017). The game was announced on February 3, 2021, and released on February 17, 2022. Critics gave the game positive reviews, and it was nominated for the British Academy Games Award for Best British Game at the 19th British Academy Games Awards.

Gameplay

Total War: Warhammer III has gameplay similar to previous games in the series, including turn-based strategy and real-time tactics. In the campaign, players move armies and characters on the map and manage settlements in a turn-based way. Players engage in diplomacy with, and fight against, AI-controlled factions. When armies meet, they battle in real time. The game includes a custom battles mode where players can create custom real-time battles, as well as online multiplayer battles. Players who owned races from the first two games can use those same races in multiplayer mode in the third game. The game includes a combined world map called "Immortal Empires," similar to the "Mortal Empires" campaign in Total War: Warhammer II for those who owned the first two games. The "Immortal Empires" map was released as a beta on August 23, 2022, with patch 2.0.

The races in the game include the human civilizations of Grand Cathay (based on Imperial China) and Kislev (influenced by common stereotypes from pop culture about Slavic nations), and five Chaos factions—four devoted to each of the Chaos Gods (Khorne, Tzeentch, Nurgle, and Slaanesh), and the Daemons of Chaos, led by a Daemon Prince, who can be customized by earning "Daemonic Glory" during the campaign. Another race, the Ogre Kingdoms, was made available to players who bought the game early (those who pre-purchased the game before release, or purchased it within the first week after release).

The main campaign takes place from the mysterious Lands of the East to the daemon-infested Realms of Chaos, which are believed to be the source of all magic in the Warhammer Fantasy universe. Game director Ian Roxburgh stated that the campaign map is twice as large as the Eye of the Vortex map from Total War: Warhammer II.

Plot

During the end of winter in Kislev, Ursun, the Bear-God, would end winter with his roar and bring summer. For seven years, however, Ursun has not spoken, and Kislev has suffered an endless winter. The Barkov brothers, Yuri and Gerik, are sent by Tzarina Katarin on a journey north to find the missing god. During prayer, Yuri hears Ursun's voice, saying he is trapped in the Howling Citadel, in the Chaos Wastes.

Yuri leads his army north into the Chaos Wastes, but becomes changed by Chaos as his methods to reach Ursun's prison grow harsher. He kills his brother Gerik and gives Gerik's skull to a Greater Daemon of Khorne to build a bridge of skulls to reach the Howling Citadel. After defeating a chaos-corrupted Boyar and his forces guarding the citadel's entrance, Yuri enters a portal to the Realm of Chaos.

After emerging from the portal, Yuri finds the imprisoned Ursun and meets Be'lakor (voiced by Richard Armitage), the first of the Daemon Princes. Be'lakor says he guided Yuri by pretending to be Ursun's voice. Ursun begs Yuri to free him, but Be'lakor tricks Yuri into thinking Ursun is weak and unworthy of worship, tempting him to kill the god and take his power. Yuri refuses to worship Ursun and shoots a Chaos-filled bullet into the Bear-God's heart. Ursun roars in pain, and the backlash throws a seriously injured Yuri back to the material world. Dying, Yuri offers his soul to the Chaos Gods and begs them to save him. The Chaos Gods answer and make Yuri a Daemon Prince.

After the prologue, Be'lakor has trapped the wounded Ursun in the Forge of Souls within the Realm of Chaos. Be'lakor hates the Chaos Gods for taking his power and physical form and plans to use Ursun's power for revenge. Ursun's painful roars have torn the fabric of reality, opening rifts between the material world and the Realm of Chaos and creating a storm that has trapped Daemons in the mortal plane.

A character called the Advisor (who taught players in earlier games) has been enslaved by a cursed book called the Tome of Fates, which belongs to the Chaos God Tzeentch. The Advisor can use the book to give advice to others but cannot help himself. He has learned he can free himself by using a single drop of Ursun's blood. He seeks allies from different groups to help him find Ursun:

The rulers of the Tzardom of Kislev want to free their god and end the eternal winter that harms their land. However, tensions exist between the Ice Court, led by Tzarina Katarin Bokha and her secret society of Ice Witches, and the Great Orthodoxy, led by Supreme Patriarch Kostaltyn, who believes Katarin is not a worthy ruler. Controlling three main Kislevite cities (Kislev, Praag, and Erengrad) allows either group to rescue and awaken Katarin's father, Boris Ursus, the Red Tzar and High Priest of Ursun, from his frozen sleep in the Frozen Falls. This unlocks Boris and his group, the Ursun Revivalists, as a playable faction for future games.

The dragon siblings of Grand Cathay, Miao Ying the Storm Dragon (who rules the Northern Provinces) and Zhao Ming the Iron Dragon (who rules the Western Provinces), do not care about Ursun's fate but agree to help because the Bear-God knows where their missing sister, Shen-Zoo, is. Shen-Zoo disappeared in Norsca long ago.

The greedy Ogres of the Ogre Kingdoms in the Mountains of Mourn, led by Overtyrant Greasus Goldtooth and Prophet of the Great Maw, Skrag the Slaughterer, are not interested in politics but want to eat Ursun's divine flesh and give the remains to their god, the Great Maw.

The Daemons of Chaos each have their own goals for Ursun. Skarbrand the Exiled One, the greatest Bloodthirster, wants Ursun's skull to give it to Khorne, the Chaos God of Blood and War, to earn forgiveness for past betrayal. Kairos Fateweaver, the two-headed Lord of Change and Oracle of Tzeentch, wants Ursun's eyes to see the present, as he can only see the past and future. Ku'Gath Plaguefather, the greatest Great Unclean One of Nurgle, wants to use Ursun's body to create a plague called a God-Pox. N'kari the Arch-Tempter, favored by Slaanesh, the Chaos God of Excess and Desire, wants to enjoy Ursun's sorrow. Yuri Barkov, now a Daemon Prince called the God-Slayer, wants to kill Ursun and take revenge on Be'lakor for tricking him.

To reach the Forge of Souls where Ursun is trapped, each group must travel to the Realm of Chaos, attack the domains of the four Chaos Gods, and capture the soul of a Daemon Prince bound to them. As the groups fight for the Daemon Princes' souls, it is revealed that Be'lakor plans to absorb Ursun's power after Ursun dies to become the Chaos God of Shadows. With an army of Soul Grinders made in the Forge of Souls, he will destroy the four Chaos Gods and rule alone.

Once all four Daemon Princes' souls are captured, Ursun dies. As Be'lakor becomes a god, the Advisor uses the souls to build a bridge to the Forge of Souls. The player's group fights Be'lakor's army and finally kills him, stopping his rise to power. After the final battle, the outcomes are:

• The leaders of Kislev mourn Ursun's death, believing their land will fall without their god. However, Ursun is revived by their devotion and ends Kislev's endless winter. Tzarina Katarin's victory is considered the official ending.
• The dragon siblings of Cathay use spirit magic to speak to Ursun, who tells them where their missing sister is before disappearing.
• The Ogres eat Ursun's body and feed the remains to their god, the Great Maw, briefly stopping its hunger.
• Skarbrand gives Ursun's skull to Khorne, but Khorne does not forgive Skarbrand for his betrayal.
• Kairos takes Ursun's eyes, allowing him to see the past, present, and future.
• Ku'Gath uses Ursun's body to brew a plague that can infect gods.
• N'kari captures Ursun's spirit and enjoys his sorrow over Kislev's fate.
• The God-Slayer takes Ursun's

Downloadable content

Creative Assembly plans to release multiple paid and free DLC packs for the game, which add new content. A free update called Immortal Empires was released in August 2022 for owners of Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Warhammer II. This update includes a large campaign map that combines the maps and playable races from all three Total War: Warhammer games.

Some legendary lords from earlier games have their own factions in the Immortal Empires campaign: Grombrindal the White Dwarf (The Ancestral Throng) for the Dwarfs, Helman Ghorst (Caravan of Blue Roses) for the Vampire Counts, Volkmar the Grim (Cult of Sigmar) for the Empire, and Archaon the Everchosen (Warhost of the Apocalypse), Sigvald the Magnificent (The Decadent Host), and Kholek Suneater (Heralds of the Tempest) for the Warriors of Chaos. Vlad and Isabella von Carstein, who were first released separately in earlier games, are now included together as part of the Sylvania (formerly Von Carstein) faction for the Vampire Counts. If a player chooses Vlad, Isabella is automatically unlocked as a hero (secondary leader), and vice versa. Be'lakor, the main antagonist in the main story campaign, is also included as a playable legendary lord for the Warriors of Chaos with his own faction, the Shadow Legion.

Gotrek and Felix were first added as temporary legendary lords and heroes in Total War: Warhammer II, where they would leave after 30 turns. In the Thrones of Decay update in April 2024, they became permanent legendary heroes with full skill trees. They can now be recruited through a specific quest by the Empire, Dwarf, Bretonnia, Kislev, and Grand Cathay factions.

Reception

Total War: Warhammer III received "generally favourable" reviews, according to Metacritic, a website that collects and summarizes game reviews.

Chris Tapsell of Eurogamer praised the game’s tutorial but noted that new players might find the game challenging because some complex rules are not fully explained. He described the game as fast-paced and challenging, yet enjoyable and rewarding, and recommended it. Leana Hafer of IGN called the game a strong ending to the dark fantasy trilogy, highlighting its depth, improvements, and features like alliances and factions. Fraser Brown of PC Gamer praised the addition of new game modes and features, such as the Daemons of Chaos, and said the tutorial was the best Creative Assembly, the game’s developer, had created. Shacknews also praised the new campaigns, races, customization, and visuals, and mentioned that the lack of DLSS and slower load times on some devices were small issues.

PCGamesN liked the new campaign, saying it was better than Warhammer II’s because it had a more interesting ending. They noted that in Warhammer II, the winner was often decided by collecting the most ritual currency, making the outcome feel predictable. The Guardian praised the new tutorial and the exciting campaign but criticized the game’s auto-resolve system, which made battles feel repetitive. Rock Paper Shotgun enjoyed the new demonic realms players could fight through, describing them as intense and similar to the ending of the game Frostpunk.

After the release of the Shadows of Change DLC in August 2023, Creative Assembly faced criticism for its high price compared to the amount of content. On Steam, the DLC, which included three new legendary lords, cost £20 when it was first released, while previous DLCs for Warhammer II, which included two lords each, cost £8. This led to many negative reviews for the main game on Steam. Creative Assembly later explained that rising costs justified the price increase. However, in December 2023, the company admitted the DLC did not meet expectations and announced a free major update for Shadows of Change. This update, released on February 21, 2024, added new units and legendary heroes, including Naryska Leysa and Saytang the Watcher. The DLC was also updated to allow players to purchase lords individually, as in other DLCs.

By March 2025, the game had sold a total of 2,340,000 units.