Creative Assembly manufacturing new Total War

Last week, the Creative Assembly surprised many by announcing it is working on a console action title based on the Alien film series. The announcement was a bit of a shock, since the British studio's specialty is real-time strategy titles for the PC, including March's well-reviewed Shogun 2: Total War. (The exception was the multiplatform Spartan: Total Warrior, released in 2005.)

However, just because the Creative Assembly is bringing another Alien game to consoles for its owner Sega doesn't mean that it's neglecting its bread-and-butter franchise. Speaking with Eurogamer, Creative Assembly creative director Mike Simpson confirmed that work is already well under way on the next installment in the Total War series.

"We never stop, so yes," said Simpson. Studio director Tim Heaton seconded his colleague, saying work began "while we were finishing Shogun 2. … Absolutely we're on the next."

Though the pair wouldn't elaborate on whether the next Total War would be set in a historical period after or before Shogun 2, they were optimistic about the financial future of the latter title. Shogun 2 has already sold over 600,000 units according to Sega Sammy's latest financial report, and the "Total War games have a really long tail," according to Heaton. Simpson added, "The original Shogun sold more copies in the second three years of its existence than it did in its first three years. They sell for ages."