Nagash, The End Times, and Medieval III: Total War's Biggest Announcements Yet

Creative Assembly has officially announced The Lord of the End Times, the next major DLC for Total War: Warhammer III, headlined by none other than Nagash, the Lord of the Dead himself. The reveal marks one of the most anticipated additions to the trilogy, finally bringing the architect of undeath into the game as a fully playable faction leader, in a faction composed of only himself.

The DLC introduces four total Legendary Lords, with only Nagash confirmed so far. The remaining three have been revealed, leaving room for a certain rat-like fellow.

Nagash brings with him a new, unique spell lore, as well as mechanics that allow him to elevate other undead LLs into his personal Mortarchs. His gameplay is explicitly themed around domination, conversion, and reshaping the world in his vision.

The announcement trailer leans into the End Times trauma, recreating one of the books' most memorable moments. The final shot offers a particular tease: Settra's resurrection at the hands of the Chaos Gods.

Creative Assembly also emphasized that The Lord of the End Times will lean more heavily into narrative-driven content than previous releases. The DLC is said to be built to reflect the scale and atmosphere of an actual world-ending crisis, with story beats that follow Nagash's rise and the broader collapse he sets in motion.

At the same time, the studio stressed that the DLC won't compromise the sandbox freedom that defines Total War campaigns.

Among confirmed units, there was concept art of Tomb Heralds, Morghasts, and the great big Khemric Titans, so seeing them is sure to be a delight. Wallach Harkon, another vampire character, also gets a short showcase.

Archaon Gets His Due

Of course, Nagash isn't really the Lord of the End Times, no, that comes with Archaon, the Everchosen. And details are under wraps, but the update is said to be significant, giving the champion of chaos and bringer of the end of the Warhammer Fantasy world a worthwhile touch-up.

The showcase then introduces Cataclysmic Events. These are map-altering events that can dramatically reshape the world. These are also pitched as actual events that occur, and to model them, they have reworked how provinces work here and more.

Visually, they have shown a lot of these things, including changes to terrain and entire continents, such as with Lustria, as the great jungles recede and give way to deserts and wastes, large shards of Morrsleib sunken into the terrain, thanks to a certain race that we'll see showcased later down the line.

A New Way to Play Immortal Empires

This, of course, comes with the announcement that Immortal Empires no longer requires ownership of previous Total War: Warhammer titles. Players who want to jump straight into the grand campaign as Nagash can simply purchase this DLC and play without buying the earlier games.

This marks the most accessible version of Immortal Empires to date.

Medieval III is the next historical Total War

The Lord of the End Times was announced alongside another big news story: Total War: Medieval III is now officially in early development. Creative Assembly hasn't shown much from it yet, but the fact that it is confirmed means that one of the studio's most popular historical eras is back.

They have also mentioned a new engine in the works, Warcore. This engine looks to be taking a new leap for Total War, bringing new VFX, destructable buildings, 'vehicle pathing,' and more. It will also help with support for future games for Consoles.

Meanwhile, the studio confirmed that the other non-historical Total War project, which was originally expected to appear here, has been held back. It's now scheduled for a full world premiere at The Game Awards, which is frustrating for fans who have been holding their breath for the entire showcase.

For now, Nagash's return sets the stage. Everything else, from cataclysms to Chaos, seems ready to follow.