'You might not immediately see a big change, but we're confident you will over time - and we guarantee there are a lot of things behind the scenes being made possible due to this, which we wouldn't otherwise have the chance to do. We're always looking to evolve and improve on our games and this deal gives us a lot of ways to do that - as we said, fresh perspectives, money that we'll be putting back into the studio, new ways to expand. That means we can have more resources, push ourselves further, be more creative, make more Total War. 'This opportunity allows expansive back-end infrastructure development that will allow us to expand into multiple stores. For Total War's 20th birthday, that felt like an opportunity too good to pass up. Secondly, Epic were paying for our players to have our latest release free on day one. First we're at a time when we're looking to invest more into the ongoing development of Total War this felt like an opportunity to really move the franchise forward by getting it in front of more people. 'However, ultimately we considered two things. It was a difficult decision, and you can be assured that there were a lot of differing opinions in the studio, and a lot of discussions about it - which largely focused on what it would mean for you, the players. 'That's not to say that we immediately signed on the dotted line, or that money was the only reason that we did this (it's not!).

'Epic approached us and asked if Troy could be an Epic exclusive, as part of a commercial deal,' Creative Assembly explained. The deal was about reaching a new audience, which clearly has worked out. Back in June, Creative Assembly said this exclusivity and the free giveaway is a one-off deal for Troy, and there are no plans for future games to be Epic exclusives.

A Total War Saga: Troy is an Epic Games Store exclusive for 12 months.

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