Shogun: Total War

Set against the backdrop of the Sengoku Jidai (Warring States) period from the 15th to the beginning of the 17th century, Shogun: Total War is a real-time tactics and turn-based strategy game with a strong…

90 13 June 2000

Real Time Strategy (RTS) Strategy Tactical Turn-based strategy (TBS) Historical Warfare

Shogun: Total War is a real time strategy (rts) developed by The Creative Assembly, released 13 June 2000 on PC (Microsoft Windows).

Verified 21 Aug 2026 Sources: IGDB , Steam , Wikipedia

What Shogun: Total War is

Shogun: Total War is a real time strategy (rts) game developed by The Creative Assembly and released in 2000. It was published by Electronic Arts. It is available on PC (Microsoft Windows) only. It runs on TW Engine 1.

The premise, in the publisher's words

Japan 1542 - A nation divided by warfare. One determined warlord will master the Art Of War and lead his Samurai troops in a brutal quest to unite the country. He will rise to become Japan's supreme ruler. He will rise to become SHOGUN.

Description from the publisher · source

How it plays

It is played from a bird view / isometric perspective. Its themes are historical and warfare. It is a single-player game with no multiplayer component. Available modes: Multiplayer and Single player.

Where it sits in the Total War series

Shogun: Total War is the first of 56 entries we hold in the Total War series. The next entry was Medieval: Total War in 2002. Its critic score of 90 is 7 points above the series average of 83. The highest-rated entry is Rome: Total War at 91.

See all 56 Total War games in release order →

How it was received

Shogun: Total War holds a critic score of 90 out of 100. That places it above 93% of the 612 rated real time strategy (rts) games in our database, which average 72. Games released in 2000 averaged 72, so it scored 18 points above the year average. Player ratings track closely with critics at 87, across 65 votes.

What you need to run it

The minimum specification calls for 1 Ghz or faster processor, 512 MB RAM and DirectX 9 graphic card. At 1GB of RAM, it will run on essentially any working PC — that is below what a budget laptop ships with today. Install size is roughly 1GB. Both tiers are compared side by side on the requirements page, and you can check your own parts against them without installing anything.

Full requirements and PC checker →

What it launched against

Shogun: Total War launched on 13 June 2000, within three weeks of Diablo II, Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition and Jet Set Radio. All of them reviewed better.

Released around the same time: Diablo II, Deus Ex, Deus Ex: Game of the Year Edition, Jet Set Radio.

Cheats and codes

We have not confirmed any working cheat codes for Shogun: Total War yet. Rather than reprint a list we have not tested, this section stays empty until one is verified.

Know one? Send it in and we will test it →

Official trailer

Sourced from the publisher’s YouTube channel.

Screenshots

All media

Characters

All 1

Voices

Dlc

Shogun: Total War - Mongol Invasion

8 August 2001

Expansions

Shogun: Total War - Mongol Invasion

8 August 2001

Quick answers

Shogun: Total War — frequently asked questions

When did Shogun: Total War come out?

Shogun: Total War was released on 13 June 2000 for PC (Microsoft Windows).

What are the minimum PC requirements for Shogun: Total War?

At minimum, Shogun: Total War needs 1 Ghz or faster processor, 512 MB RAM, DirectX 9 graphic card graphics, 955 MB available space of storage.

How many GB is Shogun: Total War?

The PC system requirements give two figures: the minimum line says "955 MB available space" and the recommended line says "2 GB available space". Plan for the larger one, since the developer has not said which is current. Updates can add to that, and console versions have their own sizes, which are not listed here.

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