Total War: Medieval 3 confirms six locked factions, asks fans to vote on 23 more

Creative Assembly has revealed the first six confirmed playable factions for Total War: Medieval 3 and launched a community survey asking fans to weigh in on 23 additional candidates. The six locked-in factions are England, France, the Holy Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and the Sultanate of Rum.

According to creative director Leif Walter, CA uses three criteria when evaluating whether a faction earns a spot: how well known it is, how unique its starting situation is, and how distinctive its potential mechanics could be. The survey covers a wide range of candidates — Italian city-states like Venice and Milan, Scandinavian kingdoms, and Muslim powers such as the Almohad Caliphate and the Fatimid Empire are all on the table. A few factions have already been ruled out, including the Russian Principalities, the Mongol Empire, and the Papal States. The Pope is apparently a popular fan request, but Walter says the playstyle would be so unique and special that it would pull too much focus away from the rest of development.

Medieval 3 is still early in production — CA has been unusually transparent about that, running preproduction livestreams and now opening faction selection to community input. The original Medieval 2: Total War launched back in 2006, so this is a long-awaited return to one of the series' most beloved settings. CA is juggling two major projects simultaneously, with Total War: Warhammer 40,000 further along in development and generating its own buzz after a showing at the PC Gaming Show.

The survey gives fans a rare chance to shape the roster before the game is anywhere near release. Which of the 23 candidates make the cut will depend partly on that community feedback and partly on what CA can realistically build into distinctive, mechanically interesting factions.